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Comment by notJim | Hacker News Reader

I thought Model 3s didn't have keys.

They come with NFC credit cards

True, but there is still no physical way to turn the car on. Teslas rely on wireless communication to turn on. That seems like a poor design to me.

So what you're saying is that keyless start mechanisms (also wireless btw) in modern cars today are also poor design?

Even if the keyfobs on the S/X run out of battery, they can still be used to unlock and start the car. Just like the keycard on the Model 3 (NFC based no battery needed): https://youtu.be/0J1VbeDfQmg?t=24

Most keyless start systems have a backup physical key[1] hidden inside the remote fob and will use very short range RFID [2] similar to older physical turn keys and their immobiliser chips to authenticate with the car ECU and allow the engine to start.

[1] https://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2016/03/21/20/42/pic...

[2] https://www.mazda3revolution.com/threads/if-the-battery-in-t...

I'm aware of this as I have owned cars with this feature. Modern cars do not use the physical key to "start". It's mostly only to open the driver side door.

See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BttKQ6K-Y74

RFID/NFC is used to actually start the car like you pointed out.

On all current Tesla cars, they fobs and keycards can both unlock and start the car, making a physical key pointless.

Any car that relies solely on wireless communication to start isn’t well thought out.

> Any car that relies solely on wireless communication to start isn’t well thought out.

But this is not the case not just for Tesla but for most modern cars today. Not sure why you keep insisting this.

There is a backup method for modern electronic keyfobs (incuding Tesla cars) where you place it in a designated spot to start the car:

BMW: https://youtu.be/BttKQ6K-Y74?t=70

Lexus: https://youtu.be/9S8fm8UE9T8?t=57

Nissan: https://youtu.be/lV_HLwlOS-8?t=54

Audi: https://youtu.be/4gq4L9IQO7U?t=85

Tesla S/X: https://youtu.be/0J1VbeDfQmg?t=64

Tesla Model 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxCgtXEMVY

As you can see, it's not solely "wireless". In the Model 3 this is the default behavior. For both unlocking and starting if using the keycard.

If you can design a better system than the rest of the engineers in the auto industry combined, lets hear your idea.

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