Tesla Service UK / Guides / Voice Commands
Voice commands cheat sheet
How to actually get good results from voice commands, and where it currently falls short.
Last fact-checked: . General guidance — always check your own model's specifics and current official sources before relying on it for a decision.
How it works
How does Tesla's voice command system actually work?
Activated by a steering wheel button or a wake phrase depending on your car and software version, the system handles natural-language requests for common tasks — climate control, navigation, media, and various settings — processing much of it with genuine natural language understanding rather than requiring rigid exact phrases, which sets it apart from older, more limited in-car voice systems.
What it's good at
Where it genuinely works well
Climate adjustments ('set the temperature to 20 degrees', 'turn on the seat heater'), navigation ('navigate to the nearest Supercharger'), and media control are all generally reliable and worth using regularly rather than reaching for the touchscreen while driving, which is both safer and often quicker.
Where it struggles
Where it's less reliable
Highly specific or unusual settings changes, requests involving very uncommon place names, and commands issued in a noisy cabin (multiple people talking, loud music) are the areas most likely to need a repeat or a manual touchscreen fallback. If a command consistently fails, rephrasing more simply and directly usually works better than repeating the exact same phrasing louder.