Tesla introduces dirty-talking Grok AI to Model 3 and Y
Tesla has introduced its artificial intelligence Grok chatbot to the Model 3 and Model Y, with up to eight ‘personalities’ depending on the owner’s mood.
Grok is the controversial AI chatbot from xAI, a company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and it can configure the car’s built-in navigation to set a destination, plan routes on the go, and highlight nearby points of interest.
In line with the current trend of integrating AI programmes into cars, Tesla Grok can provide drivers with best practices for driving and help with making sense of infotainment screen (dashboard) alerts.
Should the mood strike, Grok will also answer questions in a “smooth, human-like conversational flow” covering various topics, including maths, physics, biology, and for reasons, philosophy.
Grok comes with seven ‘personalities’ to choose from. Standard Grok modes are ‘Assistant’, ‘Language Tutor’, ‘Therapist’, ‘Storyteller’ and ‘Meditation’.
In a case of life imitating art, there is also ‘Conspiracy’, which acts like an unhinged conspiracy theorist, while Tesla claims ‘Doctor’ is genuinely designed to respond to medical queries.
Family-friendly Kids Story Time and Kids Trivia Game are also available, and over-18s can indulge themselves by switching between adult-only ‘Romantic’, ‘Sexy’, ‘Unhinged’, ‘Motivation’, and ‘Argumentative’ modes.
Orange YouTube enthusiasts will be pleased to know that any NSFW conversations between man and machine are not recorded by Grok (grot, maybe?), ensuring complete anonymity and non-association with the vehicle.
Grok’s tone can also be personalised with a gamut of calm or smooth male voices, a British male called Leo, or a variety of upbeat or soothing female voices.
Grok is being rolled out as part of an over-the-air software update, and will also be added to later versions of the recently-culled Tesla Model S and Model X. To download Grok, a Tesla Premium Connectivity subscription and a stable wi-fi connection are required. To use the Chatbot, it can be activated via the car’s steering wheel and/or touchscreen.
