Tesla puts ByteDance's Doubao model into its China cockpit over the air

Tesla began releasing an over-the-air update in China on July 31 that installs Doubao, the large language model developed by ByteDance, as a voice assistant in the cockpit, CnEVPost and Sina Finance reported. Tesla announced the rollout through its Chinese social-media account; it publishes no dated newsroom for the market and has issued no English-language statement.

According to the reports, the update is build 2026.14.13 and is going out in batches across the Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X. Doubao took over the in-car voice assistant rather than arriving as a separate application, with multiple voice options and selectable personas, and Tesla said it can provide real-time information and hold open-ended conversation — chatting, singing, debating and telling stories. It cannot control vehicle functions. The rollout is limited to cars running Hardware 3.0 and earlier, excluding those on AI4, and requires the Premium Connectivity subscription, priced in China at 9.99 yuan a month. Alibaba’s Qwen model has been reported as in testing for a later release with vehicle-control and navigation scope.

The arrangement is narrower than what Tesla has already disclosed it plans. In the terms of service for the Model Y L last August, the company said it would use Doubao for voice commands and vehicle control and DeepSeek for conversation; the build shipping now does neither control function. Separately, China Star Market reported that Alibaba’s Qwen model has entered in-depth testing in Tesla’s China cars, with listening, answering, vehicle control and navigation all in scope.

Tesla has not said whether the arrangement extends beyond China, and the reports do not describe how conversation data is handled or where it is stored.