Tesla is working on new voice command features in move towards AI assistant

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last year that the automaker is working towards bringing an AI assistant experience in its vehicles as it releases more voice command features.

Now, we learn that Tesla is working on a bunch of new voice commands as it works on that goal.

As other automakers are working to integrate Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant into their vehicles, Tesla is going its separate way to develop its own system.

The company has been increasingly improving its voice command system with new features and Musk said that Tesla owners will eventually “be able to do pretty much anything via voice command.”

The CEO even envisions “a KITT-like artificial intelligence in Tesla vehicles.”

They are still not there yet, but Tesla is actively working towards that gaol with increasingly more advanced voice commands.

For example, Tesla hacker and friend of the site verygreen found a series of new voice commands in Tesla’s latest software update:

Hm, new voice commands landed on my car a week ago, but only saw it now. Is this new?
"enable sentry mode" / "disable sentry mode" ; "keep tesla safe" ; "turn sentry on/off".

anybody tried those yet?

— green (@greentheonly) April 1, 2019

The new commands enable Tesla’s new Sentry mode feature, but verygreen also found a bunch of new commands that Tesla appears to be working on as well.

He says that there are no keywords assigned to them yet, but it looks like Tesla owners will soon be able to control things related to the wipers, climate control, and even the glovebox through voice commands.

Here’s the list of commands he found:

• car.glovebox
• car.mirror.set
• car.steering_column
• car.wipers.on/off
• car.wipers.increase/decrease
• car.hvac.on/warmer/colder/off
• car.hvac fan.more/less/absolute
• car.hvac.intake.fresh/recirc/biohazard
• car seat_heater.on/off/up/down

Electrek’s Take

I really want Tesla to keep working on that. Voice commands are really useful and as they improve, I find myself talking to my car more and using the touchscreen less.

Eventually, I see Tesla connecting those capabilities through its mobile app and you’ll be able to talk to your car through your phone to tell it to warm it up or precondition the battery pack.

That said, I am not sure about a KITT-like experience which would require your car to talk back, but I can see that happening too with a Siri-like experience.