--- title: "Tesla Enthusiast Implants Car Key Inside His Flesh" description: "Tesla owner Brandon Dalaly now has a contactless, car-unlocking microchip, outfitted with a Tesla-linked app, installed in the back of his right hand." date: "2022-08-22" modified: "2022-08-22" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-impants-car-key-flesh" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "microchip implants" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Enthusiast Implants Car Key Inside His Flesh ![Tesla owner Brandon Dalaly now has a contactless, car-unlocking microchip, outfitted with a Tesla-linked app, installed in the back of his right hand.]() *\Image: dondula7 via YouTube\* ## Key Lump Losing keys — car keys, house keys, any key — is awful. Just ask Tesla owner Brandon Dalaly, who recently went to extreme lengths to make sure that he's got his keys on hand (or, well, *in* hand) at all times. Thanks to a biotech startup called VivoKey, the Tesla fan now has a contactless, Tesla-unlocking microchip implanted in the flesh of his right hand. Dalaly — who's in the beta group to test this specific NFC VivoKey chip, called the [Apex chip]() — revealed his modification in a [gruesome video]() in which he showcased the piercing procedure he underwent to insert the chip, as well as a successful attempt to unlock his car afterward. "I'm in a beta group of around 100 people and the \[VivoKey Apex chip\] can do secure transactions and java card applets," Dalaly [told *Teslarati*]()*.* "The company that put this together literally has its own app store where you can wirelessly install apps into your body with these chips." ## Lock Marks This isn't Dalaly's first in-hand VivoKey chip. As he told *Teslarati*, there's one in his left hand as well, which is linked to his house key, medical information, vaccination card, and a few other useful documents. "The whole idea was that I would have my house key in my left hand and my car key in my right hand," Dalaly told the site, adding that he hopes to link a credit card to his new chip as well. That way, he says, "I can use it anywhere where there are tap-to-pay terminals." According to Dalaly, the chips are covered with biocompatible materials like biopolymers and bioglasses — that way, as he continued to *Teslarati*, the body's natural tissues can accept and adapt to the chip. They can also apparently glow, which is fun. Convenient? Horrifying? You decide. For what it's worth, Dalaly seems pretty happy with the results, although he does want people to know that installing the chip doesn't mean he's into devil worship. "There's the religious people who have sent me a bunch of weird comments on Facebook... there's something in the 'Book of Revelation' that talks about this mark in your hand or forehead that shows your allegiance to Satan or something like that," Dalaly told *Teslerati*. "I just don't want to have to worry about forgetting my car keys. I'm not over here worshiping Satan." **READ MORE:** *[Tesla owner implants a chip to unlock his car and more]()* \[*Teslarati*\] **More on microchips:** [*Neuralink Cofounder Leaves as Brain Company Descends into Chaos*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()