Tesla files generative AI voice assistant with Shanghai regulator

Tesla filed a generative AI voice assistant with the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration, the regulator said on its official WeChat account. The feature is now one of 158 AI-powered tools registered in the city.

China requires generative AI functions to be registered before they can operate. Hundreds of AI services completed registration by the end of 2024. Tesla shares fell after the announcement.

Tesla is reported to be integrating Chinese AI models, using DeepSeek for conversational tasks and ByteDance’s Doubao for voice tasks such as navigation and climate control. Tesla’s Full Self Driving system is still awaiting regulatory approval in China.

A day before Tesla’s filing, Volkswagen disclosed an AI voice system for China and said it will roll the feature out across its China models by the second half of 2026. The system runs on the car rather than relying on the cloud, using a large language model stored on board and technology from Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu.

Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen’s China chief technology officer, described the assistant as “designed to read what drivers want before they ask, with a built-in sense of personality.” Volkswagen displayed four vehicles at a Beijing event, including a model developed with Xpeng and the FAW-Volkswagen ID. AURA, and plans to launch more than 20 new electric models in China in 2026.

Rivian is expanding software work in China through a joint venture with Volkswagen valued at up to $5.8 billion. The JV hired Manasi Vartak as vice president of AI and data to work on the Rivian Unified Intelligence platform and the Rivian Voice Assistant. Rivian’s chief software officer Wassym Bensaid had set an early-2026 target for the voice feature; it did not appear in the most recent over-the-air update.

Safety concerns have arisen as automakers add voice controls. A crash involving a Lynk & Co Z20 in China was linked to a voice command that turned off the headlights when the driver had asked to switch off an interior light; the driver could not restore the headlights before hitting a barrier. Mu Jun, the automaker’s general manager, apologized on social media and said the software was being fixed; the company has limited headlight control to manual operation while the car is moving. Other brands including Zeekar and Deepal have reported similar malfunctions.

China’s Cyberspace Administration requires registration and oversight for systems that generate content or interact conversationally. Automakers are adapting software and local partnerships to meet those rules rather than deploying a single global AI system.