I have a confession to make.
I get into arguments with my dashboard.
I love my Tesla, I really do, but it has been a struggle for awhile.
Have you ever found yourself yelling at your dashboard? I certainly have. You try to tell the car to take you to a specific coffee shop, and it tries to route you to a completely different state. Or worse, it just stares at you blankly while you furiously type the address on the screen.
It creates so much friction. It is honestly one of the most annoying parts of modern driving. We have these incredible machines that can practically drive themselves, yet talking to them feels like arguing with a brick wall.
Well, that is about to change big time.
From Chatbot to Personal Guide
With the 2025 Holiday Update (specifically version 2025.44.25.1 if you’re tracking the numbers), Tesla is finally fixing the disconnect between what you say and what the car does.
This update officially started rolling out on December 8, 2025. It is hitting the fleet in waves right now, so if you don’t see it yet, check your app. It is coming.
Up until now, Grok was basically cut off from the actual car functions. You couldn’t ask it to do anything useful related to driving.
But that’s over.
Grok is no longer just a fun chatbot you talk to while you are bored at a charging stop. It has graduated. It is now a fully functional co-pilot that basically sits in the passenger seat and handles the GPS for you.
Here is what is happening. Grok can now add and edit navigation destinations for you, but it does it with natural language. That means you do not have to talk like a robot to get the robot to understand you. You just talk.
Real-World Scenarios: Smart Trip Planning
The best part about this update is that it understands context. It is not just about entering an address. It is about solving a specific problem you have at the moment.
Let me paint a picture for you. Say you’re trying to impress someone. You want to do a romantic sightseeing tour, but you didn’t plan ahead (we’ve all been there). In the old days, you’d be pulling over, frantically Googling “scenic spots,” memorizing addresses, and typing them in while your date awkwardly looks out the window.
Now you just get in the car, long press the voice button on your steering wheel, and speak. You say:
“Hey Grok, plan a romantic sightseeing tour with the best scenic outlooks in the city.”
Boom. It calculates the route, arranges the stops, and pushes them directly to your navigation faster than you could type a single street name.
It also handles logistics. We usually have to choose between a good charger and good food. But now you can ask Grok to find a Supercharger within walking distance of a coffee shop.
It scans the map, cross-references the amenities, and routes you to a stall where you can actually get a decent latte while you wait.
That is the difference between a command and a conversation. A command is getting from A to B. A conversation is solving a problem.
Watch It in Action
You really have to see the speed of this to believe it. It takes the friction completely out of trip navigation.
How to Enable It
There are a few technical things you need to know to make this work. Since Grok is doing some heavy lifting in the cloud, this requires Premium Connectivity or a Wi-Fi connection. If you’re parked in a garage with no signal and no Wi-Fi, you’re out of luck.
Here is the step-by-step guide to get it running:
- Check Your Version: Make sure your car has updated to version 2025.44.25.1 or later.
- Open the App: Go to your App Launcher on the main screen and tap Grok.
- Change Personality: Look for the settings or mode option and set the personality to “Assistant.”
Or there is a way easier way:
If you want to skip the menu digging, you can just long-press the right scroll wheel on your steering wheel and verbally tell Grok to navigate to your location(s).
That is it. You are ready to go. This completely changes the dynamic of the drive. It finally stops feeling like a GPS and starts feeling a little more like KITT from Knight Rider.
So the next time you get in the car, don’t tap the screen. Just ask. Go see if it can find the best Thai restaurant near you (and hopefully it knows better than Yelp).
Go give it a try on your next drive and enjoy the ride.