Tesla owners have a new way to control their EV using an Apple Watch

Tesla owners in Australia now have a new, highly anticipated way to control their EV, with an official Tesla app on the Apple Watch. 

The new app allows Tesla owners to not only use it as a key to unlock the car, but also a few other surprising features.

In a recent article on X, Tesla shared details of the features owners can expect in the upcoming holiday update which usually covers upgrades inside the car.

“Use your Apple Watch as your phone key. You can also view battery charge, open frunk & turn on climate control,” the post said.

Adam P, an Australian EV enthusiast and Tesla owner, shared the app controls running on the Apple Watch in a separate post, saying it is now able to show the car’s state of charge in either percentage or km, whether the car is locked or unlocked, charging port as well as heating/air conditioning controls on the first screen.

It also shows the name given to the car as well as the current status of the vehicle which in Adam’s case was “Asleep for 1 hour”.

Another local Tesla owner also shared the controls on a Model X and a Model 3. Along with the cars, surprisingly, the Powerwall charging status can also be seen on the app.

Proper functionality with full controls on the Apple Watch app is expected to be available to owners once Tesla’s holiday update lands in Australian vehicles in the coming weeks. However, the watch app can be downloaded once the phone app is updated to the latest version on the iPhone.

At this stage, Tesla has not provided any word on whether this would be available on Android-based smartwatches in the future, but it’s likely, given their popularity.