Your Tesla doesn’t come with a traditional metal key. Instead, Tesla supports three separate ways to get in and drive: your phone, a key card, or an optional key fob. Most new owners default to whatever they set up first at delivery and never think about it again — but each option works differently, and Tesla’s own guidance is clear that you shouldn’t rely on just one.
Phone key
Your phone connects to the car over Bluetooth and acts as your primary key: it unlocks the doors as you approach, lets you start driving with no extra step, and gives you access to the Tesla app for remote climate, locating the car, and sharing keys with other drivers. It’s the most convenient option day to day, but it depends on your phone having battery and Bluetooth turned on, and it isn’t supported at all on 2012–2020 Model S or 2015–2020 Model X.
Key card
The key card is a plastic card, about the size of a credit card, that talks to the car over short-range RFID rather than Bluetooth. You tap it against the reader on the vehicle’s B-pillar (or the equivalent spot for your model) to unlock and start driving. It doesn’t support walk-up unlocking or auto-drive-away the way a phone key does — you have to tap it every time — but that’s also what makes it dependable: no battery to charge, no Bluetooth pairing to lose. Tesla sells a two-pack of key cards with a bifold wallet for $40, and it’s compatible with Model S (2021+), Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and Cybertruck.
Key fob
Where available, the key fob is the closest thing to a traditional car remote: physical buttons to lock, unlock, and open the front and rear trunks, plus support for the same walk-up unlocking and auto-drive-away as a phone key. It’s the most expensive option at $175, and Tesla notes it has more limited compatibility across model years than the card or phone key.
What to actually carry
Tesla’s own recommendation is to use your phone as the primary key day to day, since it unlocks the most features, but to always keep at least one physical backup — a key card or fob — somewhere accessible. That backup matters more than it sounds: if your phone battery dies, breaks, or updates at the wrong moment, a card in your wallet or a fob on your keyring is the only way back into the car. A key card is the cheaper, lower-maintenance backup for most owners; a key fob makes more sense if you want a physical remote you can hand to a valet or a family member who doesn’t want the Tesla app installed on their phone.
Whichever combination you choose, add every key to your account under Controls > Locks > Keys on the touchscreen the first week you have the car, before you actually need the backup.
Photo by Brett Jordan.