Tesla Adds New Long-Awaited Voice Commands

While we’ve seen several changes to Tesla’s voice commands, including a new voice and the potential for a Smart Voice Assistant to come soon, we haven’t seen much in the way of new voice commands.

For the first time in a long time, Tesla has added new voice commands as part of the 2024 Holiday Update. These new commands control vehicle features that weren’t accessible before. With all of the changes we’re seeing, including faster responses and better voice recognition, we’d be surprised if Tesla doesn’t show off a completely new system in the first half of 2025.

For now, let’s take a look at the new voice commands. Shout out to @LifeMiddie and our readers for catching these.

HOV Lanes

Command: Turn [On/Off] HOV

High Occupancy Vehicle lanes are generally faster than other lanes. However, the requirements for their use differ from state to state, with many states requiring a minimum number of occupants. The setting is buried under Controls > Navigation > Use HOV Lanes, which makes it annoying to get to for something you may want to turn on and off often. Thankfully, we can now use a voice command.

Toll Routes

Command: Turn [On/Off] Avoid Tolls

Similar to HOV lanes, this command will toggle the “Avoid Tolls” navigation feature on or off as requested.

We’re actually hoping this feature gets renamed - a double negative “Turn Off Avoid Tolls” to be able to use toll routes in navigation is a bit confusing. Perhaps “Avoid Tolls/Don’t Avoid Tolls” would be a better voice command.

Headlights

Command: Turn [On/Off] Headlights

This is a simple command that people have been asking for ages. We’re glad to see it finally arrive, and it's pretty helpful, especially when you’re parked or want to turn on your headlights in the rain.

Keep in mind that using Turn on headlights will actually switch your headlights to On instead of Auto, so you may need to move them back to Auto later.

Fog Lights

Command: Turn [On/Off] Fog Lights

This command requires your vehicle to be equipped with fog lights. This command does nothing for newer vehicles that include integrated fog lights, like the Cybertruck and Model 3 Highland.

For vehicles equipped with fog lights, it will turn on or off your fog lights as requested. It's a nice addition, as fog lights aren’t always necessary. This will also turn off your rear fog lights for the Model S and Model X.

A couple of other existing voice commands that are often useful are ‘navigate to X’ or ‘navigate home.’ You can also use voice commands to turn on voice guidance on or off by saying, turn off voice guidance. We have a list of the Top 10 Most Useful Voice Commands that may also be useful.

If you find any additional new voice commands, let us know here on our forums or on social media. You can also check out our list of all known Tesla voice commands.

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