Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.
There are Tesla fans, and then there are Tesla fans.
Amie DD, a Texas-based software developer and bio-hacker likely falls into the more enthusiastic of the two categories.
Over the past 11 months, Amie stripped down the valet card to her Tesla Model 3, removed the important bits, fabricated an implant, and successfully become a human embodiment of the key. Now she can unlock the electric car with just a wave.
The key's antenna isn't limited to one small part of the card, like in a credit or debit card. Instead, it uses a small wire around the perimeter of the card. So instead of cutting it out, Amie had to dissolve the card in acetone.
The key's antenna isn't limited to one small part of the card, like in a credit or debit card. Instead, it uses a small wire around the cards perimeter. So instead of cutting it out, Amie had to dissolve the card in acetone.
Once it was removed from the card, the antenna was about 40 millimeters by 10 millimeters, or roughly the height of a Lego figure.
With help from a company called Vivokey, which specializes in implantable chips for computer passwords, ID badges and more, Amie had the Tesla antenna encased in polymer so that it could "safely*" be implanted beneath her skin.
*Please do not try this at home.
"I talked to a few doctors, they were a little weary about doing this, because it's kind of a questionable thing," Amie says in the video.
From there, Amie enlisted the help of the piercing shop Shaman Modifications to have the device installed.
"He was amazing, detailed, explained all the steps to me," Amie said on her blog where she documented the entire process. "His studio was clean and sanitized. I was so nervous leading up to this, and he made the process so amazing!!"
Eventually, the chip made its way under her skin. We'll leave out the bloody parts, but here's the markup pre-operation.
Amie hasn't posted any footage of the implant actually unlocking her car, but the hardware is very much in her body, according to the YouTube saga thus far.
Why didn’t I post a video of the chip working with my car the day I got it? 1. I was at @defcon this weekend! 2. My arm was swollen right after(none of my other chip implants read the first few days). I may have upgrades but unfortunately my body still heals at a human rate lol! pic.twitter.com/WKHogGKqmE
"It makes me want to do it more," she said of skeptics who were critical of her plan. "Not because I want to defy them, but it makes me question why. Why can't you do it that way and what are the limitations."
