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WTF? ! Many of today’s automakers are moving away from traditional physical keys that access and start vehicles in favor of NFC apps and technology. This is good news for anyone worried about losing their keys, but what if you left your smartphone somewhere? That’s when a chip key implanted in your hand would come in handy.
Tesla owner Brandon Dalaly is a fan of biomodification. He has a chip implanted in his left hand which is used to unlock his home and also store information such as his wallet, contact card, medical information, Covid vaccination card and similar items, Teslarati writes.
Dalaly recently added to his collection with a larger implant in his other hand: the VivoKey Apex, a contactless NFC secure element chip that enables secure transactions and java card applets. Dalaly explains that he’s part of a beta group of about 100 people using them, and that the company behind the $300 component has an app store where users can wirelessly install apps. on their integrated chips. The first he downloaded was a Tesla key card.
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“[T]It was the first app I installed on it because I have a Tesla, and now I use it as a key when my Bluetooth dongle fails or I don’t have my key card. You just use your hand,” Dalaly said.
The chips are coated with biocompatible substances such as biopolymer and bioglass, which allows them to be encapsulated by body tissues once implanted. He had the VivoKey Apex chip placed in his hand by a professional piercer for $100. The process, which you can see in the video above (warning: it’s slightly graphic), is similar to how vets chip dogs.
These implants often raise concerns about their vulnerability to hacking or accidental use. But Dalaly says that, like the phone’s NFC technology, such scenarios are unlikely and usually only possible when a person or machine almost touches their hand.
Non-medical body implants remain a controversial area. There are a lot of negative responses on Twitter to Dalaly’s post about his mods, especially from people who implanted medical devices out of necessity, not choice. He’s also not the first person to have a Tesla chip key implanted in his hand; several owners have been indulging in this strange practice for a few years now.