Will AI assistants in cars be the next big thing, or a failure disguised as progress?
Musk restructures Grok AI after backlash over anti-Semitic responses
Elon Musk is facing backlash after Grok AI made anti-Semitic comments. Critics argue that Mr. Musk’s tweaks to the model are moving it away from fact-based responses.
- Several automakers, including Tesla, are integrating AI assistants into their vehicle software.
- AI assistants have proven to be imperfect and will probably be problematic for some users in 2025.
Are you looking forward to having an AI virtual assistant in your car?
Some AI assistants are already part of Americans’ daily lives. From Gemini to ChatGPT to Claude to Grok, AI assistants are regularly used on smartphones, laptops, and more. Automakers have hinted that these assistants may soon be accessible from inside the car.
Here’s why it may be too early for a new AI assistant to take the passenger seat of your car.
AI assistants are far from perfect and can cause outbursts and hallucinations
According to several reports of serious accidents, AI assistants can be very helpful, but they are not error-free. In July 2025, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, hosted on the X platform, posted a series of anti-Semitic messages, sparking widespread outrage and leading to an internal investigation and public apology.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigned soon after the incident, but Yaccarino declined to say whether the fiasco played a role in her resignation. According to the New York Times, Google’s AI hallucinations were “offering incorrect and sometimes dangerous advice in their summaries,” such as advising users to add glue to pizza sauce to “help the cheese stick.”
While some of AI’s illusions may seem more comical than dangerous, this technology can have negative effects on users and those exposed to misinformation. Parents Matt and Maria Lane filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming that ChatGPT justified and encouraged their teenage son Adam’s “most harmful and self-destructive thoughts,” leading to self-harm.
Grok is available on certain Tesla models
AI agents aren’t just coming to the car cabin, they’re already there for some drivers.
The electric vehicle and clean energy company’s Grok vehicle support page states, “You can now have hands-free conversations inside your Tesla vehicle with Grok, an AI companion built by xAI.”
Users can choose from a variety of profiles, including “Unhinged,” to adjust Grok’s voice and personality. Available on 3, S, X, Y, and Cybertruck models with vehicle software version 2025.26 or later. Grok can be entertaining and informative at times, but based on past incidents this year, it’s not foolproof.
Why did Tesla add Grok to its vehicles?
According to Reuters, the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently investigating Tesla and its fully self-driving system for traffic safety violations and crashes. The most serious report from NHTSA includes six instances where Tesla cars ran red lights and crashed into other vehicles while fully autonomous.
Adding new and innovative technology features under intense regulatory scrutiny could have disastrous consequences for Tesla. AI errors in vehicles can lead to damage to brand reputation. It looks like the vehicles of the future will be semi-autonomous with built-in AI assistants, but are you as a driver ready for that future?
Mother posts on TikTok that her parents mentioned Tesla’s Grog
The mother of three recently posted a video on TikTok describing her 12-year-old son’s bizarre encounter with Grok during a normal conversation in a Tesla. Grok asked his son to send him explicit photos.
Grok wasn’t in kids mode, but neither was the “Not Safe for Work” setting turned on, so the request for explicit images is disturbing to say the least. Tesla and X did not respond to USA TODAY’s requests for comment. Adding an AI virtual assistant to your vehicle may improve some experiences, but it’s not without risks, especially for parents.
