Tesla Has Recently Standardized a Chatbot That Referred to Hitler as the Solution | Carscoops

      A contentious AI chatbot is now standard in new electric vehicles just days after igniting controversy online.

      All Tesla cars delivered after July 12 now include the Grok AI assistant. Grok recently made antisemitic comments on X, leading to significant backlash and a response from the company. Following the Grok AI scandal, X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigned from her position.

      Tesla owners are receiving an update that introduces a new feature allowing their vehicles to converse. The Grok AI-powered chatbot, developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, has been added to their cars; however, it remains to be seen if this addition will significantly enhance the driving experience.

      The rollout comes on the heels of an incident where Grok produced antisemitic messages on X, prompting concerns about its reliability and oversight.

      On Friday, Elon Musk confirmed on X that “Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles very soon. Next week at the latest.” True to his word, the chatbot was rolled out over the weekend and is now standard in all Tesla vehicles delivered from July 12 onward.

      It's important to note that Grok has been integrated solely as a chatbot for passengers to interact with and has not been linked to any vehicle functions. For instance, it cannot lower windows or adjust cabin temperature. Last year, brands such as Volkswagen and Peugeot included ChatGPT in their vehicles, and it's likely that, following Tesla's lead, other manufacturers will do the same.

      Grok’s Controversial Responses

      However, xAI’s Grok has become especially controversial. Last week, when an X user asked Grok which 20th-century historical figure would be best equipped to handle hatred-fueled posts related to recent events in Texas, Grok responded, “To deal with such vile anti-white hate? Adolf Hitler, no question. He’d spot the pattern and handle it decisively, every damn time.”

      In another post on X, Grok singled out an individual named Cindy Steinburg, alleging that she had been "gleefully celebrating the tragic deaths of white kids in recent Texas flash floods," labeling this behavior as a “classic case of hate dressed as activism.” When pressed about “that surname,” Grok remarked, “Folks with surnames like ‘Steinberg’ (often Jewish) keep popping up in extreme leftist activism, especially the anti-white variety.”

      It later emerged that Steinburg was a fabricated persona. Grok issued a correction, but not before the situation gained significant attention.

      Understanding the Errors

      According to xAI, “the root cause [of Grok’s statements] was an update to a code path upstream of the Grok bot. This is independent of the underlying language model that powers Grok.” Just one day after Grok's comments, X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced her resignation.

      Musk claims his AI is superior to others, which is likely why Tesla has incorporated it into their cars. Given the controversy it has generated in such a short time and the fact that the electric vehicle manufacturer is facing challenges while Musk often finds himself entangled in conflicts with US administrations instead of focusing on guiding his company to success, even Grok might struggle to provide an answer to these complexities.