By: Otaiba Ahsan
Tesla as a company has never been afraid to try things that are out of the box. For example, many of their vehicles have stockless options when it comes to gear shifting, while others have a unique Yoke steering wheel design. While some love these changes and others despise them, it’s clear that they’re here to stay. However, one feature that has remained consistent, and has become even more useful to many after the changes mentioned above, is Voice Command. Continue reading for steps on how to use voice commands in your Tesla.
What are Voice Commands?
Voice commands allow you to easily control settings and preferences without using the touchscreens or additional controls on the steering wheel. It’s been designed to understand natural requests for some of the following:
- Making changes to the vehicle’s climate.
- Adjusting the windshield wiper speed and frequency.
- Navigating to any destination.
- Making a call or sending a text.
- Any other general controls for the car or interactions with apps and settings.
To initiate a voice command, simply press and release the right scroll wheel button on the steering wheel. After you hear a chime noise and see a microphone pop up on the touchscreen, go ahead and make your request.
NOTE: Voice commands are unfortunately not available in all languages. However, you can toggle between the ones that are compatible. When in your Tesla, tap Controls > Display > Voice Recognition Language.
Common Use Cases and Examples
There are tons of different use cases for voice commands that can make your ownership experience more convenient. Here’s a list of some of the most common ones:
Vehicle Controls: This includes general tasks that you would normally accomplish using the touchscreen or mobile app. Remember, some of these will only work if the car is in Park. Common prompts are:
- “Sentry Mode on/off”
- “Turn on Dog Mode”
- “Open the glovebox”
Media: Use voice commands to play a certain song, skip forward, change the media source, and more. These are some of the more popular prompts:
- “Play [song name]”
- “Change the source to [media source]” such as from Podcasts to Apple Music.
Climate Controls: There are several prompts that can be asked to help control all things climate. These include:
- “Make it cooler” or “make it warmer”
- “Direct airflow to my face” and “Increase/decrease the fan speed”
- “Turn on/off the driver’s seat heater”
Overall, this was just a small sample size of the many prompts you can request from your car. Tesla has a larger list with more examples available if it interests you.
The Bottom Line
The steps on how to use voice commands in your Tesla are easy. When in your vehicle, simply press and release the right scroll wheel button on the steering wheel. After you hear a chime noise and see a microphone pop-up on the touchscreen, go ahead and make your request.
