Teslas will be able to talk to people soon, Elon Musk announced via his official Twitter page today. He didn’t elaborate on the subject further. Nonetheless, people are excited about the upcoming feature.
According to Musk’s answers to the comments about the upcoming feature, Teslas will be able to talk to pedestrians, and their voice can be added to Sentry Mode. Having Teslas talk to pedestrians will probably be better than the pedestrian noisemaker the EV automaker rolled out in early September. Its all-electric vehicles will now be able to tell pedestrians what is happening while they’re moving at slow speeds.
Teslas will soon talk to people if you want. This is real. pic.twitter.com/8AJdERX5qa
— Buff Mage (@elonmusk) January 12, 2020
The pedestrian noisemaker was rolled out in compliance with the NHTSA’s mandate that all EVs should emit an audible sound when moving at speeds under 19mph. The mandate was included in the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010. Teslas’ new voices may prove to be quite entertaining for pedestrians.
Adding a voice to Sentry Mode will probably prove to be quite comical and intimidating for anyone trying to harm a Tesla in the future as well. Many Tesla owners have wanted to give Sentry Mode the eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, but giving it the voice of Saruman, the white wizard, might just be as good.
“And, of course, your car will be able to [fart] in their general direction,” Elon Musk joked on his tweet, referencing an iconic scene from the classic comedy film Monthy Python and the Holy Grail. Having their Tesla talk to other people, like KITT from Knight Rider, has been a dream for many owners for such a long time. Once again, Musk was on the same wavelength has the Tesla community.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Any 90’s kid knows who watched Knight Rider was probably amazed at KITT and his voice. To them, KITT was the car of the future. The talking car from the show wasn’t just car to Michael Knight, KITT was a friend.
In the past, Elon Musk has mentioned that he wanted people to have fun with their Teslas. Giving all Teslas a voice could be amusing for owners. Based on Musk’s description, the all-electric vehicles' voices will be interactive.
If combined with the Neural Net and its ability to change and adapt, Teslas’ voices could actually turn out to be more like KITT. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to speculate that the upcoming feature could reveal a lot about how Teslas think and maybe even show some personality through their voices.
Featured Image Credit: Common Wikimedia
About the Author
Claribelle Deveza
Longtime writer and news/book editor. Writing about Tesla allows me to contribute something good to the world, while doing something I love.
