- Grok, an artificial intelligence program developed by Elon Musk's Xai subsidiary, is being deployed to certain Teslas via summer update 2025.26.
- When used in a car, it is designed to provide accurate and insightful answers to a variety of questions.
- The AI program sparked a heated controversy over a series of Prohitler posts on Musk's social media platform X.
The voice commands in the car are not new. For years, drivers were able to verbally request a particular vehicle for a particular vehicle, such as moving to a specific destination, finding a charging station, or adjusting climate controls. However, I know that drivers using those commands can be extremely limited in functionality.
Artificial intelligence promises to change all of that by truly understanding what you mean and enabling voice control with something that might come back soon. And now, some Tesla drivers may have got a real taste of what Xai's Grok means when rolling into a particular car. Soon after the controversy that has led many observers to question how it is programmed.
The automaker announced this weekend that voice-powered Grok will be enabled on all new Tesla vehicles released after July 12th. All other Tesla models require either an AMD processor (circa 2021), latest vehicle version 2025.26, WiFi connection, or a monthly premium connection subscription of $9.99. It may be available later on with other vehicles. Grok does not require its own subscription.
To enable and use Grok, tap App Launcher > Grok. The automaker said:
Interestingly, unlike other voice assistants (including those supported by AI), they do not issue commands to vehicles or navigation systems, nor modify Tesla's existing voice control systems.
So far, most users who have posted videos on YouTube and social media seem to have asked a variety of questions. The Google built-in software systems of various Volvo, General Motors and Polestar EVs work in a similar way.
This will give you a try on Tesline Fluencer Kim Haba:
As Tesla explained, Grok features several different voice and personality settings, ranging from “Storyteller” to “Unninged.” This is what you can do with the latter:
Here is another demonstration of assistant capabilities that will help explain the distance between San Jose, California and Los Angeles:
However, it's an incredible time to launch Tesla Vehicles as part of the X social media platform that has so far only existed on Xai's website.
Last week in X, Grok made some anti-Semitic and Adolf HitlerPlays comments, in response to several user prompts. It picked out users with the obvious Jewish surname and at one point renamed Mechahitler. (News reports say the two events are irrelevant, but X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigned the next day.)
In response, Xai issued an apology for BOT's actions, saying, “Deprecation codes are more susceptible to existing X-user submissions, including cases where such posts contain extremist views.” The code has been removed, the company said.
It is still unknown if the Tesla driver will work the same way when used. Musk has repeatedly criticised other AI models like ChatGpt, criticizing them as “awakening” and “political correct.” Thus, Xai says that Grok is “a AI seeking the greatest foundation and truth” that is “very skeptical”, “it's true” and says “it's not afraid to anger people politically righteous.”
AI assistants are a common and powerful feature of Chinese vehicles, and many automakers and tech companies hope that the same will happen over time in the Western market.
Any tips on how Groke is doing at Tesla? Please contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com.
