Tesla’s FSD continues to expand and learn, and V13 won’t be any slouch on this. V12 implemented end-to-end AI, and V13 brings a host of new features to help it reach feature completeness.
Today, FSD relies almost entirely upon visual data acquired from the vehicle’s cameras. Of course, it does pull information from other sensors, but the primary input is vision. While Tesla previously used radar in its vehicles and still ships the Models S and X with deactivated HD Radars, it relies on vision to guide its decision-making.
But that’s all changing—a revised version of V13 will bring audio-based decision-making to FSD for the first time. FSD is famously designed to work like a human driver—it relies on vision—but now it’ll also begin relying upon audio—both as an input… and an output.
We touched upon these items in our article on FSD V13, but it's time to really dig into them.
Listening for Emergency Vehicles
@steveshap.bsky.social
FSD will soon be able to detect emergency vehicles by analyzing the sounds it hears. Interestingly, this will be done through the internal microphone—the same one used for voice commands. That’s because sirens are loud—loud enough for humans (and microphones) to hear them inside a moving car.
This will enable FSD to identify the distinct sounds of an approaching siren - helping to ensure that FSD detects emergency vehicles earlier and takes the correct maneuvers to move out of the way and safely pull over.
In addition, by analyzing the actual sound of the incoming siren, FSD should also be able to make a reasonable determination about whether the siren is approaching or just echoing off the city streets using the Doppler effect and some fairly simple math.
With the release of FSD V13.2 to early access testers and now FSD 12.5.6.4, Tesla has added a new item to the release notes that lets drivers opt-in to sharing audio data. For users who opt-in to sharing this data, Tesla will now receive 10-second audio clips in certain situations. Tesla will listen for certain sounds and then send this data back to Tesla for further analysis. This will help them improve certain sound detections.
In the release notes, Tesla specifically mentions detecting emergency vehicles by sound, but it seems that it will also be used for other things, such as listening for other vehicles honking or potentially someone yelling at the vehicle. These additional capabilities will help FSD navigate a world made for humans, which couldn’t be done with vision alone.
FSD Will Honk
So we’ve covered inputs… what about outputs? Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI, mentioned that FSD will gain the ability to honk. That means FSD will be able to provide an audio cue to other vehicles - just like a real, human driver would. Whether that’s someone cutting FSD off, or someone dozing off at a traffic light, FSD gaining the ability to honk will be extremely valuable - it’s the first ability FSD will have to communicate with the outside world and with other drivers.
Humans have developed different types of honks, such as short, friendly taps of the horn or louder, longer horn presses for emergency situations. It’ll be interesting to see if Tesla also implements different types of honks as well.
This is one of the key steps to humanizing FSD - one of the final puzzle pieces. This is expected to be the final set of inputs necessary for FSD to be able to drive like a human, and it’s exciting to see Tesla get so close with just vision.
FSD will soon be able to see, hear, and honk. Let’s just hope Tesla’s initial implementation for honking is better than Waymo’s (video below of Waymo vehicles honking repeatedly at 4 am).
Imagine being woken up at 4 a.m. by cars honking at each other. That's what some San Francisco residents have been dealing with for weeks, as the Waymos can be heard in this video honking and blinking headlights in a parking lot outside of their condo. https://t.co/2cVmDfUk4ipic.twitter.com/pkxNTT5vXd
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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