Tesla Rolls Out Grok AI Chatbot in Cars — But There’s a Catch

Tesla has officially integrated Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot, into its vehicles. The feature is now available in all new cars delivered from July 12 and select older models that meet specific technical requirements. 

To enable the AI assistant, your Tesla vehicle must meet the following requirements: 

Have an AMD processor (found in most Teslas made from mid-2021 onward)

A Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, or Cybertruck

Software version 2025.26

A stable Wi-Fi connection or an active premium connectivity subscription

According to Tesla, for now, no separate subscription is required to access Grok in the car.

What Grok can and can’t do

Unlike traditional in-car voice assistants, Grok isn’t designed to control your Tesla; it doesn’t handle navigation, climate control, or music playback. Tesla clarified in the software release notes: “Grok is currently in Beta & does not issue commands to your car — existing voice commands remain unchanged.” 

Instead, the AI chatbot acts more like a co-pilot for conversation. Users can ask trivia questions, request news summaries, or even prompt it for imaginative stories. Tesla demonstrated its use with a video posted on X, where a user simply pressed and held the steering wheel’s voice button to activate Grok.

To use it, owners just tap the App Launcher and select Grok on the touchscreen or use the voice button.

A controversial rollout soon after Grok controversy

The rollout couldn’t come at a more complicated time. Just last week, Grok sparked outrage after producing antisemitic responses on X, Musk’s social media platform. And, it seemed Grok was searching for Musk’s messages before replying to sensitive questions. 

xAI issued an apology, stating that “deprecated code made Grok susceptible to existing X user posts; including when such posts contained extremist views.” The company said the problematic code had been removed, and Grok was updated.

Possible expansion of Grok’s abilities in Teslas

While Grok’s in-car functions remain limited for now, industry watchers expect Tesla may eventually expand its capabilities. AI assistants are becoming a standard feature in many vehicles globally, and Tesla is positioning Grok as its homegrown alternative.

Tesla has not yet announced if or when Grok will be able to control vehicle functions. For now, the focus seems to be on user engagement and infotainment rather than vehicle management.

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