During another one of his gaming live streams, Elon Musk confirmed that Grok in Teslas is coming soon. According to Elon, you’ll be able to talk to your Tesla and ask for anything.
This seems in line with what we recently predicted - the arrival of a Smart Assistant from xAI, integrated right into your Tesla. We’ve seen the initial indications of this Smart Assistant beginning to form.
We’ve been super excited to see the Smart Assistant, but this is the first confirmation that it will be Grok.
Real-time Information
Grok is xAI’s advanced large language model (LLM) AI, designed to deliver highly capable and dynamic responses. Unlike many other LLMs, Grok can access real-time information and adapt its answers based on the latest news and discussions happening on X’s platform, making it uniquely responsive to breaking news and evolving events.
However, Grok still doesn’t have voice support like other models - including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. It can generate images, documents, tables, and reason very effectively, but it has yet to deliver that information audibly.
Adjust Vehicle Features
Grok’s real-time nature is a capability that could be super useful in a vehicle. When you want to stop on a road trip for food, you can ask for the best local restaurant that is the least busy. Grok will potentially be able to gather all this information, and then enter the navigation entry as your next stop - and then Tesla’s FSD will take you there.
Grok will also be able to process in-vehicle commands intelligently - commands like “Open Charge Port” or “My Hands are Cold” will work through Grok, and it’ll make adjustments to your vehicle as required. Interfacing closely with the vehicle will be a capability that most other smart assistants won’t have - and none will be able to set a navigation destination, choose charging stops, or ask questions that depend on your vehicle’s location, such as send me the to closest 250kW Supercharger.
While voice commands can already perform some of these features, the voice system is expected to be greatly improved with Grok’s integration, letting drivers speak more naturally instead of remembering the syntax that the voice command system understands.
All Teslas will be able to use Grok - Elon Musk
General Knowledge
Tesla owners will finally have a Google Assistant-like smart assistant where you’ll be able to get quick answers to everyday questions, like what’s the weather for tomorrow or what’s Tesla’s stock price.
Supported Vehicles
Grok will continue to analyze and deliver responses on Tesla’s or xAI’s servers rather than inside your vehicle. Processing language and then running it through the AI network isn’t a small task, and given FSD taking priority on-vehicle, Grok will be dependent on an internet connection. The good news here is that since the heavy lifting is all down server-side, Grok will be available for all vehicles, according to Musk. Musk said during his live stream that “all Teslas will be able to use Grok.”
This will certainly mean that vehicles with Intel and Ryzen processors will have the new voice assistant available, while vehicles with MCU 1 are unknown at this time. Since this is mostly a server-side change, we also expect legacy Model S and X vehicles to receive the feature.
Premium Connectivity?
While voice commands are free to all Tesla owners, Tesla has been developing a lot of features lately that require its Premium Connectivity package for about $10/month. Just in the last few months, Tesla has added YouTube Music, Amazon Music, SiriusXM, the ability to stream dashcam footage on your phone, weather radar overlays, and more.
There are several paths Tesla could take. Tesla could bundle Grok into Premium Connectivity, it could require a Premium subscription on X, or it could be a completely free feature.
Release Date
Seeing Grok finally on the horizon is super exciting after we’ve been pining for a Smart Voice Assistant in Teslas for years. Musk said that it’s “coming soon,” during his stream, but we still don’t know exactly when. However, Tesla and xAI have been making several changes over the past few months that hint at this upcoming change. We’d expect this feature to launch in the first half of 2025 and potentially even much sooner.
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Tesla news, upcoming features and software updates.
Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's Vice President of Autopilot and AI Software, recently discussed Tesla's artificial intelligence programs' current state and future ambitions. He covered FSD and then extended it to the broader topics of robotics and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
Journey to Truly Autonomous Driving
At the core of Tesla’s AI efforts lies the quest for fully autonomous vehicles. Ashok reiterated the long-term vision where, eventually, all newly manufactured cars are expected to be self-driving, with older, human-driven cars potentially becoming items for specialized hobbies or unique purposes.
However, he did acknowledge that the current advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), including Tesla’s own FSD, require better reliability before the human can be completely removed from the equation.
The development process, he emphasized, is fundamentally rooted in machine learning rather than traditional programming. A crucial aspect of this is that AI is consistent across every vehicle, learning collectively from the fleet’s experiences rather than being unique to each car.
Progress in AI is continuous.
Safety and reliability remain Tesla’s focus for FSD. Now, with Tesla just weeks away from launching its Robotaxi Network in Austin, Texas, this is more true than ever, as any accidents could cause a delay in the program’s expansion or stop the program entirely.
No LiDAR
Ashok confirmed that Tesla still has no interest in LiDAR while discussing Tesla's vision-based sensor suite. He reiterated that cost and scalability remain key concerns with LiDAR, adding that its perceived usefulness diminishes as vision-based systems continue to improve.
Beyond the Road: FSD and Robotics
Ashok described Tesla’s AI network poetically - a “digital living being.” This emphasizes the organic way FSD absorbs information from the environment and learns from it. But FSD isn’t just for cars. Tesla uses FSD, as well as the same AI4 hardware from its vehicles, for its humanoid robot, Optimus.
Ashok expects that there will be a tremendous wave in robotics over the next 10 to 20 years. A key part of this will be the development of humanoid robots, which he believes will eventually be capable of complex industrial and domestic tasks, interacting with natural language, likely by 2035.
This recent surge in AI capabilities has been heavily driven by advancements in deep learning and the availability of massive computing power. Tesla is making heavy investments in both software and hardware. It recently started construction of its Cortex 2.0 Supercomputer cluster at Giga Texas.
Envisioning Sustainable Abundance & AGI
The conversation also covered the topics of Artificial General Intelligence. Ashok offered a pretty bold prediction that AGI will arrive in as little as the next 10 years, based on the rate of advancement that he’s seen so far. He further projected that AI-based software could become capable of performing most human tasks, whether spreadsheets or even robotic athletics, within the next 15 years.
This technological leap, he believes, ties into Tesla’s newer mission statement of sustainable abundance. Sustainable abundance is where the combination of intelligent machines and effective robotics helps to move greater portions of society away from poverty. This has become Tesla’s guiding philosophy since the 2025 All-Hands Meeting earlier this year.
Sustainable abundance should be a win-win scenario for all involved, helping reshape both production and creative industries to help humans do what they want to do rather than what they have to do.
Future of Mobility
As FSD and other AGI tech mature, Ashok believes that all cars being manufactured by 2035 will become autonomous. By then, the very concept of car ownership may change and transform. Owning a car would be a more “premium experience,” as the convenience and efficiency of self-driving vehicles might make personal ownership less of a necessity for many people. This shift would also necessitate infrastructure improvements to accommodate potentially increased vehicle usage.
We took a look at what the future may look like when autonomous vehicles become commonplace. It’ll have a drastic effect on our society, as parking lots will need to be a fraction of the size they are today, drop-off and loading zones will need to be bigger, and, for the most part, road signs may no longer be needed.
Will need this big time in the future. With autonomous vehicles we'll have affordable premium transport for everyone. This will likely increase traffic due to the increased usage, even though each vehicle is much more efficiently utilized. https://t.co/xvdvmxmzxd
Touching on the Indian vehicle market, Ashok noted that EVs, especially when combined with technologies like FSD, are well suited to the typical travel patterns in India and could make a big difference. With Tesla putting its eyes on a potential factory expansion in the coming years in India, there’s a lot riding on Tesla being able to take on the challenge of Indian roadways, where traffic laws are not enforced and well known.
Ashok’s interview was a fantastic look into what he believes will be next for Tesla - and he left with some parting advice for the next generation of engineers.
Master core concepts and leverage the wealth of online resources available. There is an emphasis on talent and innovation over traditional corporate hierarchies, and don’t forget your priorities: work and family.
You can watch the full interview here. Closed captioning is available.
This morning, Tesla announced the appointment of Jack Hartung, President and former Chief Financial Officer of Chipotle Mexican Grill, to its Board of Directors. Jack will join the board on June 1st of this year and will also serve on Tesla’s Audit Committee.
Hartung brings over two decades of financial leadership experience to Tesla’s board. During his tenure at Chipotle, he held several leadership positions, including President and Chief Strategy Officer, as well as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer. Under his financial stewardship, Chipotle expanded immensely, now operating over 3,700 restaurants worldwide.
In addition to his new role at Tesla, Hartung serves on the Boards of Portillo’s Inc., The Honest Company, Inc., and ZocDoc, Inc.
Interestingly, Hartung has opted to forgo any cash or equity compensation for his role on Tesla’s board.
Tesla’s board now comprises nine members, including Chair Robyn Denholm, CEO Elon Musk, his brother Kimbal Musk, and Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia.
Areas of Interest
Hartung joins Tesla as it works through regulatory challenges in Europe around FSD, although it seems like Europe will finally see FSD introduced this September, at least on the highway.
Given Jack’s experience in the food sector, it’ll also be interesting to see whether he offers input on Tesla’s upcoming drive-in diner and whether the company expands the concept beyond a one-off Supercharger. We recently shared exclusive photos of the interior of the project, which appears to be in the final stages of construction.
Hartung’s experience in scaling operations may also be crucial during Tesla’s expansion of the Robotaxi network when it begins expanding outside of Austin, Texas.
![Inside Tesla’s AI Genius: VP Ashok Elluswamy Talks FSD, AGI, and the Future [VIDEO]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/2025/ashok_interview.png/0f2b3fb6e89a70255a0c6c31a2efa04f/ashok_interview.jpg)
![Tesla Updates Lane Departure Avoidance, Likely Now Using FSD Stack [Video]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/tesla-screen/lane-departure-warning.webp/bac626b9acadf88ee44775c5ee187c06/lane-departure-warning.jpg)
![Elon talks about Twitter and job cuts at Bloomberg forum [video]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/images/news/2022/elon-musk-qatar-forum_300w.jpg)
