As part of Tesla’s App Update 4.42.5, which is now available on both the Android and iOS App Stores, Tesla has rolled out an improved AI Assistant.
If you’re not familiar with Tesla Assist, it’s the company’s AI-powered assistant, which can be found in the Service section of the Tesla app. The assistant was first introduced with app update 4.35.5, and it has slowly improved to help answer the most common Tesla-related questions.
At first, Tesla Assist could answer general support questions like “What is Sentry Mode?” or “Why is my range lower than expected?” It acted as a helpful starting point for answering questions, but the responses weren’t personalized for you or your vehicle. However, with this latest update, that is changing.
Personalized Support
The latest version of Tesla Assist introduces personalized responses. You can specify which vehicle or product your question relates to and ask specific questions about your vehicle. For now, the responses are limited to a few categories, like tire pressure, however, we expect the assistant to have access to more vehicle information in the future.
For now, you can ask questions such as, “What alerts were recently triggered on my vehicle?” or “Is my tire pressure low?”. We’ve also been successful in asking whether a particular accessory, such as a key fob, would work with our vehicle.
Tesla provides these answers based on information in their owner’s manuals, tutorials, and your vehicle’s details and data.
Just like before, Tesla continues to provide links to related articles, such as the Owner’s Manual or the Service Manual, depending on the context.
Not a Tesla App
Future Releases
While the assistant can’t access every detail just yet — how many miles are on my vehicle — it’s already capable of pulling a lot of service-related information. It appears Tesla may be looking to expand this to other areas, with some responses stating, “Based on your vehicle’s data…”
It’s not clear what’s powering this assistant, but it could be some version of Grok, which will soon be available inside of Tesla vehicles.
The AI-based assistant can be found in the Service section of the Tesla app or by going into the main menu and tapping the question mark in the upper-right corner. Let us know if you’ve seen any other interesting responses from Tesla Assist.
Tesla has revealed the location of its third Megafactory, following Mega Lathrop and Mega Shanghai. The new facility will be in Brookshire, Texas, covering 1.6 million square feet—twice the combined size of Mega Lathrop and Mega Shanghai.
Tesla has had a lease deal at the Empire West industrial park since at least late 2021, where a third-party company has been managing the shipment of vehicle parts from Giga Texas and Fremont factories service centers across North America.
Mega… Factory?
The name says it all. Tesla’s Gigafactories focus on vehicle production—like Giga Texas, Giga Berlin, and Giga Shanghai—while Megafactories are dedicated to Tesla’s energy products.
Tesla Energy is expanding rapidly, with executives suggesting it could soon become one of the company’s largest revenue streams as demand continues to outpace supply.
Mega Brookshire will manufacture Megapacks and Powerwalls, Tesla’s primary stationary energy products. Both use LFP batteries, meaning their production won’t impact Tesla’s vehicle output, as most of the company’s cars rely on NMC batteries.
Looking at the Numbers
Tesla plans to invest approximately $194 million in upgrades and equipment across the two buildings, with the facility projected to generate between $8 billion and $10 billion in annual revenue.
Of that investment, $44 million will go toward facility improvements, such as parking, electrical upgrades, accessibility, and structural updates. The remaining $150 million will be allocated to Tesla-sourced manufacturing equipment for product production.
Tesla will also be employing approximately 1,500 people in the local community, which will be a considerable economic boost for the local residents.
Mega Brookshire Phase 2
The Megafactory plans also include funding for a distribution facility, with Tesla set to invest $31 million in its purchase and an additional $2 million for equipment and facility upgrades. Given its proximity to Giga Texas, it’s likely that Mega Brookshire’s distribution terminal will support the Tesla Semi.
This marks Tesla’s first factory announcement since Mega Shanghai. While there were initial plans for Giga Mexico, where Tesla initially planned to build their next-gen vehicle, those plans have seemingly been shelved as Giga Texas and Fremont continue to expand.
Although an official timeline for Mega Brookshire’s launch hasn’t been shared, Mega Shanghai is set to begin production soon after breaking ground in May 2024. Based on that timeline, Mega Brookshire could be operational by mid-to-late 2026.
Apple previously committed to offering real-time availability of EV chargers in Apple Maps, initially supporting certain chargers like ChargePoint. Users can now view how many chargers are actively being used, and this functionality is expected to expand to Tesla Superchargers in the future.
Apple is now expanding support for NACS chargers. Aaron from X spotted this update in the latest iOS 18.4 Beta.
NACS Plugs
While Apple Maps already displays Tesla Superchargers and detailed information, such as the power of each site and the number of stalls available, it doesn’t provide real-time stall availability yet.
While Tesla has the largest number of NACS charging stations, some other brands also use NACS connectors, and this is expected to increase now that NACS is the official charging connector in North America.
While Apple is planning to add real-time availability for Superchargers in the future, it will now warn users if they’re navigating to a NACS station if their vehicle doesn’t have the correct port. Apple Maps already shows which connectors a station offers, and they received added support for Apple Maps on the web.
A code snippet in iOS 18.4 reveals that Apple Maps will display a banner and sound a voice alert while using Apple Maps on a phone or in Car Play.
The banner and alert will mention that “You need to use a charging adapter on this route,” or more specifically, “Tesla NACS Adapter Required.”
Hopefully, Apple will also be able to pull data from Tesla’s API, noting which sites have Magic Docks - and therefore won’t need an adapter.
Not a Tesla App
Live Supercharger Availability
A key factor in making this experience seamless is adding support for live charger availability. While Apple currently provides real-time charging information for some non-Tesla stations, it has yet to include the most widespread and reliable network—Tesla’s Supercharger network.
When Apple integrates Tesla’s API and adds real-time Supercharger availability, Apple Maps could be a good alternative to finding a nearby charging station as it’ll also provide real-time third-party charger availability.
These changes would bring Apple’s navigation experience closer to Tesla’s built-in trip planner, which dynamically adjusts routes based on station occupancy and estimated arrival state of charge.
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