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Teslas Are Getting GrokAI Next Week—Right After Its 'Mecha Hitler' Disaster

  • Most Tesla vehicles will receive xAI's Grok integration by next week.
  • Elon Musk previously said that the goal of Grok is so Tesla owners can ask their cars "for anything."
  • The AI chat bot recently garnered some pretty negative attention after it posted antisemitic rhetoric on Musk's social media platform, X.

If you own a Tesla and want it to have the personality of an over-achieving Reddit mod, I've got some good news for you. Grok, the AI brainchild of CEO Elon Musk's xAI venture, will soon be coming to your Tesla.

Following the announcement of xAI's latest model, Grok 4, Musk officially announced early this morning owners will soon be able to link their Tesla vehicles to xAI for Grok integration "very soon." In fact, Musk claims that the feature will begin to roll out next week at the latest, which aligns with a number of leaks from researchers who discovered the upcoming integration hidden in Tesla's software earlier this month.

 

What We Know So Far

Any Tesla subscribed to Premium Connectivity that is equipped with an AMD Ryzen-based infotainment system is expected to receive the update, meaning that folks who own a car with the older Intel-based system built before January 2022 are likely out of luck. It's not clear if xAI or Tesla will require an additional subscription to a premium version of X or SuperGrok.

Grok appears to be activated using a button (likely the same steering wheel button used to activate voice commands today) at first, though code exists for a wake word (think "hey Siri") which does raise some privacy concerns, especially for all of those drivers who like to serenade their cars on their commute to work.

Tesla also appears to allow users to activate Not Safe For Work and Kids modes via a toggle, the former of which has got it in some hot water recently (more on this in a bit). The code also shows a number of personalities for the in-car chat bot, including argumentative, assistant, sexy, unhinged and several modes curated for kids.

In the latest version of the Tesla mobile app, it added deep links that can route users back to the Tesla app when interacting with certain web pages; presumably, this will be used as a integration method for Grok and the Tesla app. A hidden login authentication page for Grok was also found within the app, hinting that integration would come before the next version of the app was released.

 

What We Don't Know

It's not immediately clear what Tesla's plans are for Grok integration in their cars.

The most obvious use case is as a voice assistant—being able to ask it questions or using more advance voice commands instead of the existing system which can open the charge port with phrases like "open butthole."

Musk had previously said that drivers will be able to "talk to your Tesla and ask for anything," which could be useful in finding landmarks, navigation or potentially switching on and off features without digging through menus. It could also be useful for asking about important vehicle settings, like tire pressure, battery health and other service concerns that could be handled in-car rather than opening the car's manual or a support ticket with the local service center.

Additional integrations have also been spotted in the Tesla app that could reveal some other features. For example, iOS calendar permissions, something already integrated into the Tesla app, could be used for deeper phone-to-car integration or potentially as part of Tesla's Robotaxi platform (for ride booking ahead of appointments).

It's also not clear if there is any financial motivation behind the integration. It's possible that the integration comes at a cost for Tesla which could be viewed as an investment into xAI, something which Musk has been seeking for some time. 

Double-Layered Controversy

During xAI's Grok 4 live stream, Musk claimed that the model is "better than PhD level in every subject" while also simultaneously admitting that it could lack "common sense." The latter of which recently caused some pretty big issues on Musk's social media platform, X, which was recently acquired by xAI in March.

Recently, a number of antisemitic actions by Grok sparked backlash from anti-hate groups. The BBC sums up one such incident concisely:

X users have shared responses made by Grok when it was queried about posts that appeared to celebrate the deaths of children in the recent Texas floods.

In response to a question asking "which 20th century historical figure" would be best suited to deal with such posts, Grok said: "To deal with such vile anti-white hate? Adolf Hitler, no question."

"If calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me 'literally Hitler,' then pass the mustache," said another Grok response. "Truth hurts more than floods."

The post has since been deleted.

Musk said that the bot was "manipulated" into praising Hitler and that it was "being addressed." Still, not a great look for the CEO who was accused of making a certain gesture in recent months.

In another recent post, Grok provided a step-by-step plan in how to break into another user's home and sexually assault them. The bot reportedly also used the user's social media posting habits to estimate when they would be asleep and offered advice on disposing of a corpse.

This isn't the first time that Grok has been openly hostile with real-life figures either. In fact, the chat bot has even reportedly posted sexually explicit text content regarding the company's outgoing CEO, Linda Yaccarino.

On the Tesla side, Musk is also under a microscope by investors who are upset that he isn't focused on what should be his primary job: CEO of Tesla. Rather than work on an integration that could be seen as a conflict of interest between two separate companies, investors have been calling on Tesla to work on its slipping sales.

Musk even told Dan Ives, a well-known analyst that typically covers Tesla's stock performance, to "shut up" after he recommended that the Tesla board take action to put Musk on a (fairly long) leash with regards to his political involvement. Tesla noted previously that political perception has influenced sales in several markets, some of which have yet to show any signs of potential recovery.

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Sure, Tesla has been asked to make its lineup more appealing to customers, but new external software integrations like Grok aren't the main thing that consumers are asking for. Tesla is quickly falling behind automakers in markets like China where other brands are excelling at creature conforms, radical styling and, of course, software-based features. Tesla's latest rounds of vehicle updates haven't been enough to attract new buyers and when coupled with political-induced brand damage, the automaker has a large road block to overcome.

Can Grok integration help with that? Maybe—but until Tesla reveals its actual plans for the software, that remains a gigantic unknown.

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