JAKARTA - The Apple Wallet app may soon get digital car key support for Tesla vehicles. This was revealed, based on new code references found.
Since 2020, the Car Key feature has allowed iPhone and Apple Watch owners to unlock and start their cars using a mobile device. This feature is integrated directly into iOS. However, some car manufacturers such as Tesla offer proprietary mobile apps that provide similar vehicle locking and unlocking functions.
On Monday, December 29, an update to the Tesla app revealed new details about the company's plans regarding digital car keys. In particular, version 4.52.0 of the Tesla app contains references to the Harmony Wallet Key Card, indicating that integration with Huawei's HarmonyOS is under development.
Huawei's Wallet function is similar to Apple's Car Key, as both use NFC (near-field communication) hardware on mobile devices to unlock vehicles.
Regarding the reason why Tesla seems to only test the integration of Huawei for now, the Not a Tesla App site provides a reasonable explanation. The site mentions that Tesla usually launches new features to users in China first before being available globally, because Huawei has a larger smartphone market share in China.
In January 2025, it was reported that Huawei controlled 18.2% of the smartphone market in China, while Apple was only 17.2% at the time. Huawei's dominance over Apple has been visible since at least 2018, when the Chinese brand was estimated to have overtaken Apple as the world's second largest smartphone vendor.
Therefore, it makes sense that Tesla is testing the integration of an NFC-based digital car key with Huawei first before providing the same feature on other platforms.
Findings from Tesla's app update on Monday do not directly mention Apple Car Key or the Apple Wallet app as a whole, although the possibility of Tesla integration remains open.
For other manufacturers such as GM and its brands, including Cadillac, we have seen more concrete evidence that Car Key will be compatible with their cars.
Currently, more than 30 car manufacturers support the Apple Car Key function. At WWDC 2025, Apple announced that Car Key will be available in 13 additional vehicle brands. If Tesla launches Car Key support, it will be a welcome addition, albeit somewhat unexpected.
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