Tesla is finally launching an app that turns your Apple Watch into a car key

Tesla has introduced a bunch of cool new features in its Holiday Update, including a digital phone key for your Apple Watch. 

The introduction of a watchOS app will be a welcome addition to many Tesla owners. 

Until now, if you wanted to unlock your Tesla you’d need to use the app on your phone.

Not the end of the world, but a big enough inconvenience that plenty of Tesla owners urged Elon Musk to create a separate key for the Apple Watch. 

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The update sees Tesla brought to the Apple Watch for the first time

In fact, there was such a gap in the market that there are already several third-party apps that allow you to use your smart watch with your EV. 

But until now, there was no official watchOS app. 

The Holiday Update will also allow Tesla drivers to do a lot more through their Apple Watch.

They will also be able to check the battery level, turn on climate control, and open the trunk. 

Elon Musk appeared to confirm that the company was working on the new feature. 

In an exchange on X, one Tesla owner said she got locked out of her EV when her phone battery died. 

“Not sure why the car can’t be unlocked using an Apple Watch or other smartwatch,” she wrote.

“Any chance this could be?” she asked.

To which Musk gave one of his typical one-word responses, telling her, ‘sure’.

There’s a bunch of other cool updates, too

Other new features in the Holiday Update include the ability to view Dashcam and Sentry Mode recordings on your phone and save them to your device, which could come in handy if you’re ever in a crash. 

There’s also a cute ‘Santa mode’ update for Cybertrucks which will turn the onscreen 3D Cybertruck into an Optimus Bot riding in a Cybertruck-inspired sleigh. Very festive.

The Holiday Update comes after eagle-eyed Tesla owners noticed a new stand-alone charge port heater function. 

Although the carmaker introduced a heated charge port on its vehicles back in 2020, until now it wasn’t possible to use the feature on its own.

But the new release notes show that select models will now be able to use the function independently. 

So, a bit of an early Christmas gift from Tesla.