Tesla has updated its English voice for navigation guidance on newer vehicles. Many users have noted a change in the pitch and speed of the spoken text when using Tesla’s navigation system. Right now, we’re not sure whether this voice change is an indication of a larger change that’s coming, a minor tweak for better clarity, or possibly a bug.
Update: We’ve updated the article with how you can get the new voice in your existing vehicle.
Tesla Voice Guidance
A reader, known as FSDTester#420 on Tesla Motors Club, recently reached out to us to report a new nav voice. He took delivery of a new Tesla and immediately noticed that the navigation’s voice was much better than his other Tesla. The voice is noticeably faster and appears to have fewer pauses, making it sound more natural.
After posting his experience on Tesla Motors Club, other readers chimed in, saying they had the same voice in their new vehicle. The change does not appear to be affecting older vehicles, but it turns out you can update other vehicles as well (see steps below).
Video
You can listen to the navigation voice guidance in the video video below by FSDTester#420.
It turns out you can get the new voice on older vehicles as well, but it requires resetting all of your settings. X user, IRSHater69, tipped us off that a software reset may get you the new nav voice, and @brandonee916 just recently tried it and confirmed that resetting the MCU will indeed get you the new, faster voice.
If you’d like the new voice, you’ll need to factory reset your vehicle, meaning that all settings will go back to their factory defaults. You can do this by going to Controls > Service > Factory Reset. This will reset all of your vehicle settings, but most settings are now saved to your Tesla profile in the cloud, assuming you have one set up. Keep in mind that not all settings are saved to your profile and will be lost.
Settings such as browser bookmarks, trip meters, and others are not saved to your profile, and you will lose them if you factory reset your vehicle. Any drivers who don’t use a cloud account (the ones that display an avatar) will also be lost, and the driver will need to set them up again. This includes data such as seat and mirror positions, Autopilot settings, and more.
Update: Brandon has reported that his navigation voice has reverted back to the older one. It’s not clear what caused it to revert or if other users would face the same situation. If you have tried a factory reset and received the new voice, let us know.
Tesla Smart Assistant
It looks like Tesla will be updating its Voice Commands system in the future, with Musk recently saying that Tesla will support Grok AI in the car. Tesla’s current voice commands are limited and require you to say phrases in a very specific way, although they do give you access to the most common features (Top 10 Tesla Voice Commands).
Overall, voice commands are not very smart – and they’re nothing like using Google Gemini with Voice or other modern AI-based assistants. Back in January, Tesla began implementing a smart assistant in China – which brought things beyond just vehicle control, like weather updates, stock market information, language translation, and even poetry.
However, this never made its way out of China, even though Tesla’s smart voice assistant has been sitting dormant in the software for quite a while. It looks like we’ll get a wake-word, similar to the common “Hey, Tesla” – it could even be “Hey, Grok” – if we get full Grok integration as previously hinted at by Elon Musk earlier in 2024.
Either way, for now, there haven’t been any significant changes, but this voice change we’re seeing could be related to Tesla’s upcoming smart assistant feature, where they may need a more capable, more natural sounding voice.
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In a new video posted to X, Tesla is showing the progress of its first Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cell manufacturing factory in North America. The facility, located in Sparks, Nevada, will be used to produce LFP battery cells for Megapacks and Powerwall.
However, the implications of this new factory extend beyond Tesla Energy. By on-shoring the production of these cost-effective batteries, Tesla is not only securing its energy supply chain but also opening the door to potentially reintroducing LFP-based vehicles in North America.
Nearing completion of our first LFP cell manufacturing factory in North America pic.twitter.com/OLNRWajz4l
The immediate beneficiary of the new Nevada LFP facility is Tesla’s Energy division. LFP chemistry is ideal for stationary storage products like Megapack and Powerwall. It offers a very long life cycle, is extremely thermally stable and safe, and is significantly cheaper to produce than nickel-based batteries, partly because it contains no cobalt.
Until now, Tesla has relied on suppliers like CATL in China for these cells. A dedicated, domestic supply will enable Tesla to dramatically ramp up Megapack production to meet North America’s increasing demand for grid-scale energy. On the other hand, Megafactory Shanghai continues to utilize CATL’s LFP batteries and will support the rest of the world.
Tesla first revealed that they were planning to onshore LFP production in North America at the Q1 2025 Earnings Call, which will help them avoid costs, innovate in new technology, and insulate themselves from geopolitical supply chain risks.
A Potential Return for LFP Vehicles?
Another exciting application for Tesla is what this new factory means for Tesla’s budget-oriented lineup. For years, Tesla has been constrained in its ability to offer LFP-based vehicles in North America. While LFP packs are used in other markets for specific standard-range RWD vehicles, tariffs on important Chinese cells made it difficult to import these cells for use in North America.
With a domestic supply of LFP cells produced in Nevada, this tariff-related barrier will be mostly eliminated, pending the sourcing of lithium from a North American site. This is likely to lead to the reintroduction of LFP-based vehicles to the North American market, possibly in late 2026 or 2027.
An American-made LFP pack could lead to a more affordable base Model 3 or Model Y, or potentially help Tesla cut costs on the next-generation Affordable Model even further. This helps to give customers a lower-cost entry point without sacrificing a lot of range, and with the added benefit of being able to regularly charge to 100%.
Mega Nevada
With Mega Nevada now progressing well, Tesla is in an excellent position to continue iterating on its vertical integration and scaling Megapack and Powerwall—two of Tesla’s fastest-growing businesses—further. There are tons of benefits for consumers in the future as Tesla continues down this path, with more affordable Powerwalls for the home, cheaper electricity prices thanks to grid-forming Megapacks, and cheaper LFP vehicles.
The next major upgrade for Tesla’s in-car experience is pretty much already here - just hiding beneath the surface, awaiting the flick of a switch. According to new details uncovered by Tesla hacker Greentheonly, a fully functional version of the Grok conversational AI assistant is already present in recent firmware builds, just waiting for Tesla to activate it.
The feature, which is currently behind a server-side switch, could be enabled at any time by Tesla for vehicles running update 2025.20 and newer. The findings provide a better picture of what we already learned from Green’s breakdown on Grok last month.
Grok’s Requirements
@greentheonly on X
According to what Green determined from the latest software builds, the foundation for Grok was laid with update 2025.14, with more abilities and functionality added in 2025.20 to flesh it out. He also determined exactly which vehicles will be receiving Grok.
In terms of hardware, any vehicle with a Ryzen-based infotainment computer will receive Grok. This means that vehicles with the older Intel Atom processor will not be supported, at least initially. The underlying Autopilot hardware is not a factor, as Grok’s processing is not done in-vehicle.
Grok will also require premium connectivity or a Wi-Fi connection for the vehicle. At this point, we’re not sure whether Grok in your Tesla will also require you to sign up for SuperGrok, X Premium, or X Premium+, but Tesla is requiring you to sign into your Grok account. It’s just not clear whether the free version of Grok will work, or if you’ll need the premium version.
Grok User Experience
@greentheonly on X
Green also revealed the user interface for Grok for the first time. You’ll find many of the same features from the Grok app, but surprisingly, it looks like it’ll have a dark UI, even if you’re using light mode in your vehicle.
It appears that there will be a Grok app, likely for settings. However, Grok will largely operate in a modal, similar to voice commands, which are displayed near the bottom left corner of the screen.
There’s an on-screen microphone button, as well as drop-down menus for the voice and type of assistant you’d like to use.
Similar to the Grok app currently on mobile devices, you’ll be able to select from a set of voices and then define their personality. The available voices for now are the standard Ara (Upbeat Female), Rex (Calm Male), and Gork (Lazy Male).
There’s also a settings button, which, when expanded, allows you to enable or disable NSFW mode (including swearing and adult topics), as well as a Kids Mode, which will tone Grok down to be suitable for when kids are in the car.
@greentheonly on X
How Grok Will Work (Button / Wake Word)
Users will be able to activate Grok by pressing a button, likely the same one that activates voice commands today. Grok will then remain enabled for the duration of your conversation, allowing you to go back and forth, asking and answering questions. To end your conversation, you’ll press the mic button again.
While it doesn’t appear to use a wake word yet, Green says that some code refers to a wake word, so it’s possible that this could be an option Tesla plans to activate in the future.
Replacing Voice Commands
The most significant implication of Grok’s future integration is in its potential to fully replace the existing and relatively rigid voice command system. Green notes that internally, this feature is part of the car assist module, and that eventually, the plan is for Grok to take over car control functions.
Unlike the current system, which requires specific phrases, a true conversational AI like Grok can understand natural language. This will enable more intuitive requests, completely changing how drivers interact with their car.
Language Support
@Greentheonly/X
Grok will also launch with multi-language support, similar to its current abilities in the Grok app. Green says that it already appears to have support for English and Chinese and one or two other languages.
Release Date
Grok appears ready to go from a vehicle standpoint, but Green wasn’t able to actually test it out. While development appears to be nearly complete in the vehicle, Tesla and xAI may still be working on some server-side changes to better integrate with the vehicle. If they plan for Grok to replace voice commands on day one, then it’ll need to be trained and be able to execute a variety of vehicle commands.
It’s possible Tesla is actively testing Grok or adding server-side changes to replace voice commands. However, it looks like vehicle development is nearly complete and Grok could launch as soon as the next major Tesla update, which is expected to be update 2025.24.
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