Tesla taps ByteDance AI for In-Car voice assistant in China
According to Tesla’s updated terms of service, the new AI-driven assistant will allow drivers to use voice commands to control navigation, in-car entertainment, cabin temperature, and access real-time news updates.
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American electric vehicle and clean energy giant Tesla is set to roll out in-car voice assistant functions in China, powered by Deepseek and ByteDance’s Doubao AI, in a bid to catch up with local rivals offering similar capabilities.
According to Tesla’s updated terms of service, the new AI-driven assistant will allow drivers to use voice commands to control navigation, in-car entertainment, cabin temperature, and access real-time news updates.
Media reports suggest Doubao will primarily handle voice command processing, while Deepseek will manage AI interaction. Both models will run on ByteDance’s Volcano Engine cloud service.
The move reflects a broader trend among foreign automakers increasingly partnering with domestic AI providers to better localise their offerings for Chinese drivers. Earlier in March, BMW announced its partnership with Alibaba, integrating the QWen large language model into models designed for China.
By contrast, Tesla vehicles in the U.S. currently rely on Grok, developed by Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI.
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