Tesla integrates Chinese Doubao AI model for in-vehicle systems

U.S. automaker Tesla has integrated Doubao, a large language model developed by technology firm ByteDance, into its electric vehicles sold in the Chinese mainland, according to Tesla China.

The onboard intelligent voice system, activated by a long press of the voice button on the steering wheel, offers a range of features such as casual conversation, singing, debate comprehension, storytelling, English dialogue coaching, and character role-play.

It also allows users to randomly switch between four vocal timbres and five operating modes.

Equipped with the integrated Doubao real-time dialogue model and an end-to-end voice interaction framework, the in-vehicle infotainment system has transcended the conventional "question-and-answer" walkie-talkie model, delivering a more natural, fluid, and initiative-taking interactive experience.

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz had expanded its partnership with ByteDance to integrate the Doubao large-language model into its electric vehicles in September 2025.

Chinese tech firms have recently made significant advances in developing artificial intelligence (AI) models. Alibaba unveiled its large language model, Qwen3.8-Max, on Aug. 3, marking a major upgrade in its Qwen series with advanced capabilities in coding, real-life work and research.

In July, the AI startup Moonshot AI released the model Kimi K3, which features 2.8 trillion parameters, making it the largest-parameter open-source AI model globally, the company said.

Experts noted a growing number of Chinese open-source large models are moving from individual breakthroughs to collective advances, offering new approaches to the global development of AI. ■