Tesla is Creating a Voice Assistant to Replace Voice Commands [Example of Voice]

May 3, 2024

By Not a Tesla App Staff

Tesla is working on a voice assistant

Not a Tesla App

It looks like Tesla may soon be replacing its archaic voice commands with something much more useful — a voice assistant.

Greentheonly, who often takes deep dives into Tesla software by decompiling the firmware and looking for changes, has now found the early integration of a voice assistant.

Voice Assistant Already Available in China

Tesla has already replaced its voice commands in China with a voice assistant that can not only control certain aspects of the vehicle using more natural language but can also answer common knowledge questions such as the current weather, stock quotes and more (video below).

Available Only on AMD?

Correction: Tesla’s voice assistant in China is only available on vehicles with AMD processors (MCU 3), and unfortunately not on older Intel-based (MCU 2) cars. If Tesla is utilizing the same core technologies in its upcoming voice assistant for other regions, we may see the same limitation.

Intel vehicles in China still use the voice command system we’re familiar with today.

Tesla Creating Own Assistant

According to Green's findings, it looks like Tesla may be rolling its own solution instead of integrating something like Amazon Alexa like Rivian has. Tesla created their own solution in China by using some of their own technology and several existing software solutions. However, some of them are only available in China so they don’t scale to support additional regions.

Grōk

The first thought that comes to mind is Tesla leaning on AI efforts by Grōk and xAI, which could help it support common knowledge questions and search the web for answers. However, that only gets Tesla partly there, as Alexa and Google Assistant already support a large ecosystem, one that may not be available if Tesla creates their own voice assistant. With Tesla’s solution, a driver may be limited to what devices they can control through the voice assistant, at least initially. Either way, just a more natural way to activate certain vehicle solutions will be an improvement over what’s available today. The ability to ask the assistant common questions will be the icing on top.

Wake Word

According to Green, the source code hinted at the voice assistant using a wake word, which would replace the need to press the scroll wheel on the steering wheel. Tesla has begun to use the left scroll wheel button for additional things lately such as wiper controls and a multi-function mode, so this may fit in with their plan.

It’s fun to speculate what the wake word would be or whether Tesla would add the ability to create your own. It could be something as simple as ‘Hey, Tesla’, ‘Grok’, or something more humorous as Tesla has a knack for. Unfortunately, there weren't any hints on what the actual wake word would be, but being able to set a destination, play a specific song or ask the assistant for the weather will be a much-needed improvement.

Supported Models

It's not clear which models Tesla would support a voice assistant, but with the release of software v12 with update 2024.14.3, Tesla is starting to leave more features out of older Intel-based vehicles. While a voice assistant may not necessarily be computationally heavy, it may depend on Tesla's implementation and whether voice commands are transcribed on device or carried over the internet for transcription.

Voice Model

In the software, there are references to Microsoft's text-to-speech technology and specifically to a voice named “Jenny Neutral.”

The “Jenny Neutral” voice seems like an acceptable voice, bringing a natural-sounding voice to Tesla's voice assistant, although it doesn't differ much from what you find on other assistants. You can view an example of Microsoft’s “Jenny Neutral” voice in the video below.

Tesla has been more mindful lately about adding information for unreleased features to its software to help prevent leaks, so by the time something like this is found by Green, it usually doesn't take long before it becomes available, although this could also make for an exciting Christmas present.

Tesla Vehicles Spotted With LiDAR: What Do They Use It For?

July 13, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently hit the news for purchasing approximately $2M in LiDAR sensors from Luminar, one of Tesla’s long-term suppliers. You’ve probably seen photos of Tesla’s Semi and various Tesla models, including the Model 3 and Model Y sporting LIDAR equipment on the roof. These cars drive around with manufacturer plates scanning streets and highways.

However, many people confuse Tesla’s purpose in purchasing LiDAR equipment with using it for FSD versus testing. So, let’s look at what LiDAR is, and why Tesla uses it on its Fleet Validation Vehicles.

What is LiDAR?

LiDAR stands for Light Detecting and Ranging – essentially using lasers to measure distances. A laser pulse is sent out, and the time it takes to return is measured – providing extremely accurate distance measurements.

Some companies working on self-driving vehicles, including Waymo and BYD, use LiDAR as part of their self-driving suites, but Tesla is one of the few stand-outs that does not. Even Rimac’s “Verne” Robotaxi – which uses self-driving technology from Mobileye, also uses LiDAR.

While LiDAR can produce extremely accurate and high-quality 3D environments, it comes with its downsides as well. Not only is LiDAR costly and requires large gear strapped to a vehicle, but it also can not be used in bad weather and can have interference issues if there are other strong light sources present.

Why Does Tesla Use LiDAR?

A LiDAR rig mounted on a Tesla Semi for testing FSD.

Not a Tesla App

At Autonomy Day in 2019, Elon Musk mentioned that LiDAR isn’t the solution for self-driving cars – it's just a crutch. Thus, Tesla hasn’t used LiDAR for any production self-driving software.

Instead, Tesla uses it exactly how it's described – they use it to gather ground-truth data. This data is then used to feed Tesla’s Full Self Driving system – which helps validate its vision-only system's accuracy. LiDAR provides very accurate measurements to help ensure that FSD’s perception of space is accurate – and is only used by Tesla to ensure that its AI technology which is the brains of FSD is capable of accurately interpreting depth from just visual data.

Tesla’s vision-only system has been seen to be extremely accurate, with Vision-only Autopark being able to park in even narrower and tighter spaces faster than the previous version that relied on ultrasonic sensors.

We’ll likely continue to see Tesla purchase LiDAR systems, as well as use them for validation well into the future.

Tesla's Upcoming Robotaxi Event in August Delayed, According to Bloomberg

July 12, 2024

By Karan Singh

Sugar Design

In a report from Bloomberg, it is claimed that Tesla will be delaying its much-anticipated 8/8 Robotaxi event by two months to October 2024.

While sources other than Bloomberg haven't confirmed this report, Bloomberg has a positive track record of reporting on financial decisions. We’ll be sure to update the article if there is confirmation on X from Elon Musk or another Tesla senior official.

Tesla’s stock has dropped nearly 8.5% over the day, ending back-to-back gains over the last two weeks. It closed yesterday at $ 241 after hitting a peak of $270 earlier in the day before the news broke.

Why the Delay?

The delay – of approximately two months – has been communicated internally, but not publicly announced just yet. Bloomberg goes on to mention that the design team was told to rework certain elements of the Cybercab, necessitating the delay.

If Bloomberg’s report is correct, it sounds like Tesla’s unveil event will be largely focused on showing off the vehicle, instead of demoing how it will work. Of course, it could still be both, but given past events, Tesla has always shown off the vehicle years before it hits production.

Rimac recently showed off their version of robotaxi vehicle named Verne, and surprisingly, it could almost pass for Tesla’s own robotaxi. A lot of design cues in Rimac’s version are elements we have already seen or expect to see in Tesla’s autonomous taxi.

A recent Tesla patent revealed that Tesla is incorporating a sanitation system into their robotaxi that will be responsible for analyzing and cleaning the vehicle’s interior, although the delay itself is likely tied more to a physical feature rather than software.

Another element we know almost nothing about is how Tesla plans to charge these robotic taxis. Will they rely on the existing charge port and adapt a solution like the robotic charging arm (video below) we saw almost eight years ago, or will wireless charging or a dock finally become realized?

While the delay for Tesla’s event appears to be related to the vehicle’s design itself and not further development of FSD, Tesla is wasting no time in getting FSD working for the upcoming vehicle. Model 3 vehicles have already been spotted with camera locations that resemble a robotaxi.

Is the Delay Accurate?

We expect that this delay might actually be true – Elon Musk usually takes to X within hours of such news breaking if it's false to refute it and hasn’t done so yet.

Tesla has delayed several of their events in the past, and a delay of a couple of months seems plausible. We should hear from Musk himself soon on whether this report is accurate.