Tesla Owner Implants RFID Chip From Her Model 3's Keycard Into Her Arm (theverge.com) 135
A Tesla driver figured out a way to implant the RFID tag from her Model 3's keycard into her forearm. Now, all she needs to do to unlock and turn on her car is to hold her forearm near the console -- no physical key fob or smartphone required. The Verge reports: Amie DD is a software engineer and self-described "maker of things." In a video, she explained that she had implanted an RFID tag in her arm years ago, which she had used to open her home's front door and to send a smartphone's browser to her personal website. When she preordered her Model 3, she realized that she could probably do something similar with the keycard. She didn't have any luck transferring the software to her existing chip, so she decided to extract the card's chip and implant that into her arm. To do that, she dissolved the card using acetone, and had it encased in a biopolymer. From there, she went to a body-modification studio to have the chip (about the size of a Lego mini-figure) implanted into her forearm. In another video (warning, there's some blood), she shows off the implantation. She also documented her process on Hackaday. She told The Verge that the chip does work, but the range from her arm to the console "isn't the greatest." It's only about an inch, but she's hoping that it'll improve as the swelling of her arm goes down.
So progressive (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:So progressive (Score:5, Funny)
They cost an arm and a leg these days.
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I had nothing but trouble with these proximity keys when they first came out. Yes, I understand that most people don't, but when you do, you're hosed. So what happens now when the battery in my keyfob goes dead or the device stops working when I'm far from home?
Most of the time they're too cheap to include a physical key and a receptacle in the car to use a manual key as a backup, which is inexcusable.
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There is no battery in the NFC keycards being discussed. They're passive.
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I had nothing but trouble with these proximity keys when they first came out. Yes, I understand that most people don't, but when you do, you're hosed. So what happens now when the battery in my keyfob goes dead or the device stops working when I'm far from home?
Most of the time they're too cheap to include a physical key and a receptacle in the car to use a manual key as a backup, which is inexcusable.
My new Jeep Renegade's keyfob comes with a key that you can detach from the fob.
It's kind of funny, the designers (Italian) appear to have determined they were going to accommodate everyone. It has digital controls, touchscreen for everything. CarPlay works great. But if a person needs radio knobs or wants an old school speedo and tachometer, it has those too. And for all that, it's integrated very well.
But why the hell this woman implanted the chip in her hand is just weird. I wear mine around my nec
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My new Jeep Renegade's keyfob comes with a key that you can detach from the fob.
This is typical of all FCA products - my Ram 1500 has one too... it's called a "Valet Key", if memory serves. It also works pretty well if the battery in your fob craps out.
It's kind of funny, the designers (Italian) appear to have determined they were going to accommodate everyone. It has digital controls, touchscreen for everything. CarPlay works great. But if a person needs radio knobs or wants an old school speedo and tachometer, it has those too. And for all that, it's integrated very well.
Ditto - uConnect is pretty cool like that, though consider that there's a safety reason for it as well: For instance, you can flop ahead or behind a song by feeling for a knob and turning it a notch, instead of taking your eyes off the road and looking for the spot on a flat screen to stab at with a finger. Very useful on roads where you
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It's kind of funny, the designers (Italian) appear to have determined they were going to accommodate everyone. It has digital controls, touchscreen for everything. CarPlay works great. But if a person needs radio knobs or wants an old school speedo and tachometer, it has those too. And for all that, it's integrated very well.
Ditto - uConnect is pretty cool like that, though consider that there's a safety reason for it as well: For instance, you can flop ahead or behind a song by feeling for a knob and turning it a notch, instead of taking your eyes off the road and looking for the spot on a flat screen to stab at with a finger. Very useful on roads where you really should keep your eyes on the road.
Definitely agree on that point. My Renegade is the first vehicle I'd had with a touch screen. Since it has both touch and knob, I've found that the knob is used while driving, and the touchscreen while sitting still.
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NSFW, don't click. :P
Feature not bug (Score:2)
Will probably prevent people from going into debt changing car models every 2 years if everytime they bought a car they needed minor surgery
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Before long people will be lining up around the block to have chips implanted in them which grant them access to everything.
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I too would love to have surgery every time I buy a new car.
That's your trade in all sorted Mr. Jones, now we just need the key.
/snaps surgical glove
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"about the size of a Lego mini-figure"
What's that in real measurements?
Is being incapable of saying "centimeters" or "meters" a requirement for journalism these days?
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If you took a credit card, and cut an oval around the CC#, with a 1/4" margin, that would be about the size of it.
About the size of courage, IMO. I don't love my car even 1/10th that much, and it never fails me.
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If you took a credit card, and cut an oval around the CC#, with a 1/4" margin, that would be about the size of it.
About the size of courage, IMO. I don't love my car even 1/10th that much, and it never fails me.
Courage the cowardly dog? He's pretty big.
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Somewhere between "too big" and " way too big".
There is NO way that tech should be that large. The antenna, sure, those can take up some AREA. But not VOLUME. A typical milfare token antenna is about the size of a quarter. (and 1/4 as thick) The electronics are about the size of the cross section of a pea. (also close to flat)
That would be a bit annoying to implant due to the area, but nowhere NEAR as annoying to have under the skin as a lego figure - that's HUGE for a t
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It's not that big [googleusercontent.com]. You're right - the antenna is what takes up a lot of "space" on the card, but minimal volume, while the chip itself is tiny.
Here's [hackaday.io] what they modified it to for implantation.
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"about the size of a Lego mini-figure"
What's that in real measurements?
Is being incapable of saying "centimeters" or "meters" a requirement for journalism these days?
I think it's because it always starts the English vs metric wars all over again.
Meh (Score:5, Insightful)
All you really need is a good sized needle to put this in, like they do with pets.
Taking it out however - you'll need a small incision.
I'm a surgeon, who's used to making 1-2 ft long incisions, for big surgeries, and I wouldn't want a chip under my skin.
Re: So progressive (Score:3)
To be accurate, she implanted an RFID chip in her arm a long time ago. This is a story because apparently she rediscovered RFID cloning, but this time with a Tesla!
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It's right in the summary: she tried cloning it but couldn't get it to work so she cut up the card and implanted the RFID bit. Now she's got two.
Medical plans (Score:2)
You can get that kind of surgery in Iceland?
No Medical plan (Score:2)
Or a body piercing shop.
Trade value in is going to cost an arm (Score:5, Funny)
"Look we aren't going find a parking spot. Can we just valet?"
"Afraid not."
Valet parking (Score:3)
Can we just valet?
Sure. A Model 3 comes with two card keys and the owner can get extra cards [tesla.com] for $25 each.
P.S. She took an RFID setup that was designed with antenna wires in a loop, and rolled those up into a little cylinder in her arm. I'm not surprised that the range "isn't the greatest". But yeah, she's not going to lose the key.
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Seems a bit drastic, I'd much rather go with a ring or bracelet that I can replace when I change car or it breaks down.
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Re: Valet parking (Score:2)
Because ignition switch key lock cylinders have never been a problem, amirite? COUGH GM HRRFFFF
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Because ignition switch key lock cylinders have never been a problem, amirite? COUGH GM HRRFFFF
Every car I've had except my jeeps have had lock cylinder problems. And I think the Jeep thing is just luck so far.
Older cars can be very cool, but in reality, the build quality of modern vehicles is impressively superior.
My first serious car, a 1965 Buick Skylark, was a great car. But despite care, it hardly made it past 100K miles. And that was with nickel-diming after 50.
My first minivan was a 84 voyager. 4 cylinder crap that couldn't get out of it's own way. Now a 4 cylinder engine can bark pr
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Well GM ignition problems have not affected Ford Rangers. Just avoid buying Government Motors
Good advice indeed. I'm just a few data points, but my GM vehicles have had a lot more problems than any others I've bought.
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Well GM ignition problems have not affected Ford Rangers. Just avoid buying Government Motors
Good advice indeed. I'm just a few data points, but my GM vehicles have had a lot more problems than any others I've bought.
You two must be much younger than me. Ford recalled almost 9 million vehicles in the mid 1990's for ignition problems. Which was 10X more than the 800K that GM recalled for ignition issues.
I had an Astrovan that went through 3 6 cylinder engines despite good maintenance, and was about to do the 4th when I wisely traded it in.(weak mains) I had an S-10 that threw a rod at 80K miles.
My son had an S-10 that rusted so badly they wouldn't inspect it any more. I noticed a lot of Chevy trucks of that vintage (2002) are rusting like early 60's junk
Recalls mean that something is going to be fixed, not necessarily mean the cars are bad. Sitting on the side of the road with a broken engine and know
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There's a certain amount of luck involved for sure. I bought an Audi back in the 1980's because everyone that I knew never had an issue with them. Once the warranty was up on mine everything went wrong with it. Including an electrical fire, transmission went out, timing belt broke, warped head, a piston in the left front brake caliper cracked (only time I ever saw that happen), etc.
Sounds like the BMW I bought my son as a wedding present. I love Germsan engineering, but that thing was a plain awful money pit.
bought a Cadillac after that. It was still running at 320,000 miles when I decided to get a new car. I found out that most of them never made it to 100K miles due to the cam lobes getting shaved off from having to much spring tension on the rockers.
I saw one of those engines in a garage. First the visible difference between the rocker arm depression compared to normal, and then the messed up camshafts. There's one engine that takes it a step further - teh 5.7 L Hemi engine with roller lifters. Needle bearings go bad and the roller has a ton of slop and grinds a groov in the camshaft. Who knows where the needle bearings thems
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Meh call me a Luddite but I'll stick with my old dependable Ranger, just stick key in ignition, turn and go. No computerized crap to break on me, no need for a diagnostic computer to work on it, just good old simple mechanical everything. As a nice bonus because it is so simple its easy to work on and parts are plentiful and cheap, just price one of the computer brains on a new truck and enjoy youre coronary when you find out how much it costs to replace the damn thing.
Oh and its about to hit its 20th BDay in a few months and still purrs like a kitten, will any of the EVs out today be around in 20? Kinda doubt it.
I'm surprised you have email or a computer.
Re:Valet parking (Score:4, Insightful)
Your ranger can be hotwired by any dildo who can find the ignition switch, probably on the bottom of the column. There are good things about it, but there are also bad things.
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Who'd risk jail for a Ranger? I leave my beaters unlocked to save windows and park near vehicles worth stealing.
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Who'd risk jail for a Ranger?
Someone who wanted to use it for a crime. Although to be wise, they should steal an import.
Simple != Better (Score:3)
Meh call me a Luddite but I'll stick with my old dependable Ranger, No computerized crap to break on me, no need for a diagnostic computer to work on it, just good old simple mechanical everything.
Your 1996 or later Ranger has OBD2 [scanneranswers.com] on it so it has a diagnostic computer. It has plenty of electronics you apparently aren't aware of. And I very much doubt that it is particularly dependable given the age and make and likely mileage. Maybe it works fine for you and that's cool but that perceived simplicity does come with a cost. And just because you find it easy to repair doesn't mean it is reliable. Personally I prefer a car I don't have to repair over one that is easy to repair. And speaking of th
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"twist and go" is a hallmark of a computerized engine, FYI.
ECUs have been in play since the 80s when they became common and Electronic Fuel Injection became practically standard.
If your Ranger was mecvhanized, you'd usually have a choke control, have to worry about vapor loc
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good old simple mechanical everything
Internal combustion engines are a well-understood and mature technology. However, now that we have battery technology that doesn't suck for cars, electric is going to win in the long term.
I always ask people "when was the last time you had to do maintenance on the electric motor in your refrigerator or your vacuum cleaner?" They get it, pretty quick... electric motors just work, and work, and work. You don't have to change their oil, tune them up, or do anything else
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Seems a bit drastic, I'd much rather go with a ring or bracelet that I can replace when I change car or it breaks down.
Considering the number of keyless entry systems out there, I'm surprised no one is doing this yet. It would be a little like having a jewelry counter at the dealership. Pick out what you want and get the jewelry you like.
Some people would even want to accessorize, so there is a pretty good profit potential for multiple sales.
BTW, my SO loves me wearing my fob around my neck. It's cut down my Key loss rate by 99.9 percent.
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Range is close to zero for the unmodified cards. It will work through my wallet, if I touch my wallet with the key in it to the car's B pillar, but not much more.
Hold me (Score:5, Funny)
At some point the world is going to revert back to normal, isn't it?
I'm being serious. It will, right?
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No, just like the rest of us you will just keep getting older and crankier.
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Thank you. That's reassuring.
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So that means in the future I'll be as cranky as you 5-digit guys. Bleak bro.
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If you're lucky. That's the goal, but not everybody makes it. Here's a tip: Save as much money as you can. Old-You will appreciate it very much, and will know how to then enjoy all the free time you'll have. Don't buy a fancy car. Don't make "bold" investments. Make those boring ones that grind out a return year after year. OK, end of old-guy speech.
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Define "Normal".
But first, read 1984.
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No risks there.. (Score:3)
I mean, a body modification specialist definitely has the experience and training to isolate key structures to make sure no nerves are damaged or anything. I mean, there's books and YouTube videos after all.
Then again, on the off chance it does go wrong, a doctor will be happy to charge you a small fortune to try and fix it. You know, like the eye surgeon trying to save the eyesight of somebody that had dye injected into their sclera because, you know, self expression.
Idiots have been doing this for 20 years (Score:3)
This has been done for pets for many years.. (Score:2)
The technology is pretty well proven. Most dogs & cats are chipped these days. The technology seems to work well (although the lifespan of dogs & cats is less than people).
However, the pet chip readers have to be held pretty close to chip (usually in the shoulder) to read.
It seems like there are less invasive ways of not losing your keys -- bracelet, ring (or even pockets!). It also seems like if you are going to this much trouble, you should design a smaller chip rather than just cutting the key ca
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Well, those chips are specifically made for the purpose. They are much smaller (the size of a grain of rice) and therefore much easier to place. But, as you noted, the size limits proximity requirements.
Not the same as melting down a plastic card, covering up the important bits, making a incision in your forearm, working that in place and hoping the whole thing doesn't move around too much.
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I mean, a body modification specialist definitely has the experience and training to isolate key structures to make sure no nerves are damaged or anything.
Meh. Inserting something under the skin is very low risk as long as everything is sterile and the something is a material that doesn't cause allergic reactions. Body modification places do it all the time.
Rei (Score:2)
That has got to be Rei.
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I dunno - she never has any personal anecdotes about driving a Tesla. Also, if no matter what car you have, you'll find something that you don't like, or that should be done better. Rei has never described any of these kinds of niggles. Unless she's actually a paid spokesperson, I'd say the blind cheerleading suggests she doesn't actually have one.
Re: Rei (Score:2)
Tesla doesnâ(TM)t give cars to employees. They donâ(TM)t even discount new ones, and only offer very favorable financing terms to employees. Elon Musk doesnâ(TM)t even get a discount - he has said in the past âoewhy discount something that people have lined up to pay full price for?â
Disclaimer: I used to work at Tesla.
Re: Rei (Score:2)
Apologies for iOS "smart punctuation" in previous post - new device and I hadn't turned that shit off yet.
Of course Slashdot could actually support 20 year old Unicode to fix it, but that's crazy talk.
Why Surgery? (Score:2)
Advertiser-friendly content guidelines (Score:2)
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Re:Call me a luddite... (Score:4, Informative)
Honestly i think the creepiest part is that the functionality seems to be poorer than a fob in ones pocket. What is the fucking functional advantage here? If there isn't one, why the hell would you do that?
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Honestly i think the creepiest part is that the functionality seems to be poorer than a fob in ones pocket. What is the fucking functional advantage here? If there isn't one, why the hell would you do that?
Well, unless you've just been in a sword fight, you will never lose or forget your car key.
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Perfect for dementia patients who want to keep driving, but not a situation that comes up much for the rest of us.
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Just another step up from selfie attention seeking behaviour.
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I can admit to being old-fashioned sometimes but I really see a trend of massively diminishing returns with a lot of 'innovations' and 'new' technologies. The advantages seem frivolous and the risks and costs disproportionately high. The health risks for example are pretty small in this situation but they still exceed whatever value there is in having a chip in one's arm over simply having a card at the end of a lanyard.
I'm not opposed to innovation but I oppose sacrificing simplicity and reliability for
Re: Call me a luddite... (Score:2)
To get headlines on tech sites and be internet famous for about 4 seconds.
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What is the fucking functional advantage here?
"Impression, sometimes called a view or an ad view"
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Tattoos creep me out but not as much as eyebrows that have been penciled on. A chip hidden under the skin out of site that serves some kind of purpose is not a problem.
At my brothers bachelor party I had a stripper with more tattoos than a biker gang that kept wanting to play with my hair. My brother and his friends thought it was hilarious later when they found out how much it creeped me out,
Tesla Owner Makes me a curmudgeonly old man (Score:2)
Well... come on... (Score:2)
Florida man... (Score:5, Funny)
Sounds like "Tesla owner" is the new "Florida man".
Getting it implanted was idea #2 (Score:2)
Her original idea - using it as a suppository - failed miserably.
Following Kevin Warwick (Score:2)
In one of Mark Adlard's books, perhaps this one: https://www.goodreads.com/book... [goodreads.com] someone gets their hand removed because the 'remover' wishes to use the access chip inside it. Just sayin'...
When? (Score:2)
More like IF the swelling goes down.
Well that's pretty stupid (Score:5, Insightful)
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Putting herself at risk of a serious infection and acquiring a noticeable scar just so she can open a car without a phone.
So, let market researchers and TLA authorities track your movements just so you can open a car without a key.
Re: Well that's pretty stupid (Score:2)
It's just standard RFID hardware she put in years before having the Tesla. She just cloned her key card onto it, and somehow this is a story.
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No, that's wrong. She did already have an RFID implant, but she wasn't able to clone the Telsa key card onto it. So instead she dissolved the plastic of the card and converted the electronics into a new implant.
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Putting herself at risk of a serious infection and acquiring a noticeable scar just so she can open a car without a phone.
Did you look at her? She's covered with tattoos, has several body piercings and already implanted a different RFID chip in her hand. Either (a) she doesn't care about this risk, or (b) she knows how to minimize it or (c) both. In any case, someone like her is clearly unafraid of a little pain, blood and easily-mitigable risk of infection.
So now... (Score:2)
And if someone steals the car... (Score:2)
I'm not sure that the implanted piece will be considered a key anyway.
Besides, a mechanical key has the big advantage that is a cheap mechanism to lock the steering wheel.
finally! (Score:2)
yes, finally, having to cary a key or phone on you is such a drag!
who still does that? Neanderthals?
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I've been avoiding the phone bit for the last decade and it has been a rather pleasant experience. If I could get away without having to carry my keys and wallet that would be even better. However I am a little leery of switching entirely to electronic transactions to pay for things, I like having the cash option. And of course switching to having all these things implanted carries the downsides of using bio-metrics. If you have to rekey for any reason it'll probably be a lot more trouble and expense to fix
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I drove my wife's car this weekend for the first time. It has one of those push to start things. I had no idea where to put my keys. I'm not used to needing a place to store them while driving.
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Not so sure I'd want to do this (Score:2)
What's the big fuss? Wisconsin company did similar (Score:2)
A few years back a Wisconsin company did something similar. What's the big fuss?
> July 25, 2017
> A Wisconsin company is offering to implant tiny radio-frequency chips in its employees – and it says they are lining up for the technology.[...]
> Employees who have the rice-grain-sized RFID chip implanted between their thumb and forefinger can then use it "to make purchases in their break room micro market, open doors, login to computers, use the copy machine," 32M said.[...][/quote]
> https:/ [npr.org]
Idiotic submission (Score:2)
The title should read "Random moron implanted some crap into her arm". There. Not everything has to be about Tesla.
Old tech (Score:2)
Why? (Score:2)
Now the paperwork with the chip explodes as it must state not for use in a human body. Also would the FDA come down on her for running a human medical experiment without permission?
The world as many prefer it.
Tightly coupled components (Score:2)
It doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. (Score:2)
You can re-learn the card to your next Tesla, no problem.
It doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.
But in fact, practically, there's no real reason to resell a Model 3.
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But in fact, practically, there's no real reason to resell a Model 3.
you mean apart from it being obsolete, worn out, battery failing, crash, stolen, damaged, moving internationally, needing a bigger car, needing different features etc etc. You are also making the mega huge assumption that the card will be compatible with any future Tesla's or for that matter that Tesla would be the car you want next (if there even is a next tesla)
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>> obsolete, worn out, battery failing,
That should not happen before 15 Years
>> crash
hopefully not. But you'll probably get another Tesla from the insurance then anyway.
>> stolen
If you sell a stolen car, you'll end up in prison
>> needing a bigger car
Made the wrong buy, eh ?
>> damaged, moving internationally
quite rare.
So yes, there's no real good reason to sell a TM3.
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R e:Minifigures, who is this written for? (Score:2)
Lego Minifigures have been around since at least the 70s. I had them when I was a kid. There's definitely not a 2000s or 2010s creation.