Tesla is enhancing its electric vehicles in China with an AI-powered voice assistant through collaborations with DeepSeek and ByteDance. This upgrade allows drivers to use natural voice commands for navigation, media, cabin controls, and real-time updates. The system uses DeepSeek for conversational AI and ByteDance's Doubao LLM for executing commands.
With the new system, drivers can activate the assistant by saying "Hey Tesla", enabling hands-free control for various functions. ByteDance's Volcano Engine cloud platform securely manages the AI integration. This move aims to localise Tesla's offerings and better compete in China's EV market, where AI assistants are increasingly vital.
Tesla's integration of local AI reflects the importance of customisation in China's EV market. DeepSeek's chatbot facilitates casual conversation, news, and weather updates, while Doubao manages voice commands for navigation and in-car amenities. This upgrade marks a shift towards sophisticated AI interaction, aligning with industry trends for conversational interfaces.
