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Tesla owner’s implant turned her arm into a car key, which is so 2019

Published Aug 12th, 2019 6:35PM EDT
Tesla RFID implant
Image: DAVID CHANG/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

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Tesla’s Model 3 wasn’t exactly lacking for options to unlock and start the car, since you could use the Tesla smartphone app, a keycard, or key fob to do so. Nevertheless, a software engineer who goes by the name of “Amie DD” apparently decided one more option couldn’t hurt. So here’s the ridiculously extreme alternative she came up with — implant the keycard’s RFID tag into her arm to presumably operate the car with nothing but her body.

We say “presumably,” because the video she’s released documenting her extraction of the Model 3 RFID chip and its injection into her arm leaves out one salient point — visible proof of whether it works.

She’s told The Verge that it does, in fact, work, with the caveat that her arm needs to be about an inch from the Tesla’s console. She also has a page up at Hackaday.io explaining how she pulled off what must surely be considered the ultimate body hack.

She first tried to transfer the Tesla keycard’s software to an existing RFID tag she’d implanted in her arm. Alas, no such luck. So she decided instead to dissolve the Tesla keyboard using acetone, encase it in a biopolymer and then visit a body-modification studio to get the tag from the card implanted in her arm.

She made a video of the process. And as she warns visitors to her Hackaday page, prepare thyself for blood should you decide to watch below. The only remaining question we have, of course, is WHO’S NEXT?

Andy Meek Trending News Editor

Andy Meek is a reporter based in Memphis who has covered media, entertainment, and culture for over 20 years. His work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Forbes, and The Financial Times, and he’s written for BGR since 2015. Andy's coverage includes technology and entertainment, and he has a particular interest in all things streaming.

Over the years, he’s interviewed legendary figures in entertainment and tech that range from Stan Lee to John McAfee, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings.