AUSTIN, Texas — Tesla began rolling out its 2026 Summer Update on July 21, and the headline change is that Grok can finally do more than talk. The in-car assistant can now place phone calls, search and play music, adjust the climate, open the glovebox and answer questions about the vehicle by voice, closing the gap between a chatbot on the screen and an assistant that actually operates the car.
The update, which Tesla published as full release notes on X, extends the momentum from the Spring Update''s "Hey Grok" wake word and pushes several features into the mobile app. It arrives the same week Tesla reports second-quarter earnings and continues the company''s steady march toward a more autonomous, AI-first ownership experience that also underpins its wide release of FSD v14 Lite.
Grok Takes the Wheel on Commands
For the first time, Grok handles calls, media, climate and the glovebox on command, layering voice control on top of the natural-language navigation Tesla added earlier this year. It is a meaningful step that brings Tesla in line with premium automakers rolling large language models into their interfaces, and it sets the stage for deeper integration as Grok''s role in the cabin grows.
Owners can also turn on ventilated or heated seats by voice, and the browser now supports the camera and microphone, small touches that make the assistant feel more like a co-pilot than a novelty.
Navigation That Learns Your Routine
Automatic Navigation now adapts to a driver''s habits. Beyond Home, Work and calendar events, the car can suggest and route to places a driver visits regularly, like a school drop-off on the way to work or the gym on the way home. A new Preferred Routes feature leans toward the roads an owner actually uses rather than defaulting to the fastest path.
