Most Useful Tesla Voice Commands List & How to Use Them Safely

Did you know that you can control your Tesla using just your voice? Using Tesla voice commands is quick and easy, plus it offers a safer alternative to tapping the touchscreen to change the climate, navigate, text and call, and use other Tesla features. Our best Tesla voice commands list includes every command we could find, including some fun Tesla Easter eggs!

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• How to Use Tesla Voice Commands for Safer Driving
• Best Tesla Voice Commands List

How to Use Tesla Voice Commands for Safer Driving

Unlike other voice assistants, like Siri or Alexa, you cannot activate Tesla Voice commands with your voice. In order to use the commands listed below, you have to physically activate the feature:

1. On a Tesla Model S or X, you can do this by tapping the voice button located on the top right side of the steering wheel.
   
   
2. On a Tesla Model 3 or Y, you can press the right-side scroll button on your steering wheel or tap the microphone button on the touchscreen.
   
   
3. Once you’ve done this, you can speak a Tesla voice command! 
4. You will see the written version of your commands at the bottom left of your touchscreen.
   
   

Image courtesy of Tesla

Best Tesla Voice Commands List

Just like with other smart assistants, there are always several ways to get your Tesla to do the same thing, and not just because of Tesla Easter eggs! For example, to open an app, you can say "open", "show," "launch," or even "start." For this reason, our Tesla voice commands list is organized by feature and includes verbal variations.

“My Butt is Hot” & Other Climate Control Voice Commands

Elon Musk is known for including silly voice commands and Tesla Easter eggs in the software. That is why telling your Tesla that your or your passenger's butt is hot or cold will control the heated seats! Of course, there are more eloquent ways to say it, too! Here are all the climate-related voice controls:

• "My butt is cold" will turn on the driver's heated seat. Repeating it will turn it up one level.
• "My butt is hot" will either turn the driver’s heated seat down a level or turn it off. If the seat is turned up to maximum heat, you will have to say this three times to turn the heating off completely.
• "My passenger’s butt is cold" will turn the passenger’s heated seats on or up.
• "My passenger’s butt is hot" will turn the passenger’s heated seats down or off.
• "Set the driver's seat warmer to (number 1-3)" will set the seat warmer to the level requested.
• "Set the temperature to (number)" will adjust the climate in the car; you can also say, "Set the AC to (number)."
• "Set the fan to (number)" will turn on/adjust the fan.
• "Turn on the air conditioning" will turn on the AC. You can say "Turn on the AC" as well.
• "Turn on Dog Mode" will turn on Dog Mode.
• "Turn on Camp Mode" will turn on Camp Mode.
• "Make it warmer" will turn the temperature up.
• "Make it colder" will turn the temperature down.
• "Increase fan speed" will make the fan blow harder.
• "Decrease fan speed" will make the fan blow less.
• "I’m cold" will turn the temperature up.
• "I’m hot" will turn the temperature down.
• "Turn on recirculate" will make the fan blow out air that’s already in the car, which can save on battery life and be safer if there’s smog or air pollution outside.
• "Turn on biodefense" will turn on a special mode that protects you from any pollution or smoke outside the car from coming inside. This is only available in some models (2016+ Model X and S and 2020+ Model Y)
• "My hands are cold" will turn on the heating inside your steering wheel if your Tesla has this feature.
• "Turn on steering wheel heater" will turn on the heating inside your steering wheel if your Tesla has this feature.
• "My feet are cold" will turn on the climate control to warm your feet.
• "My feet are hot" will turn on the climate control to cool your feet.
• "Blow me" is another silly command that is supposed to be able to turn the fans on full blast in your Tesla. However, it didn't work on my 2019 Tesla Model 3. Perhaps it was removed because it was considered too inappropriate.
• "Turn on the rear defroster" will heat up the rear windows to defrost them.

“Display Superchargers” & Other Navigation Voice Commands

Teslas are unique because they have their own infotainment system and use Tesla maps for navigation, which is why you don’t need features such as CarPlay as a Tesla owner. While being able to navigate on a large touchscreen is useful, it can be distracting and even dangerous to use while driving. Luckily, you can navigate easily using Tesla voice commands:

• "Navigate to (address or name of location)" will plug the location into Tesla maps and start navigating there. If you save a location with a custom name like home, work, school, or even "favorite restaurant" and "secret beach spot," then you can use that for even easier navigation.
• "Go to (name of place)" will also navigate to the specified location.
• "Take me to (name of place)" works too.
• "Mute voice guidance" will keep navigation on, but it will be silent.
• "Stop Navigation" will end the navigation.
• "Zoom in" will zoom into Tesla maps.
• "Zoom out" will zoom out of Tesla maps.
• "Display Superchargers (or Destination chargers)" will show you nearby chargers.
• "Turn on satellite mode" will turn on satellite mode as long as you have Tesla Premium Connectivity.
• "Turn on traffic mode" will turn on traffic mode as long as you have Tesla Premium Connectivity.

Save Dashcam Footage & Other Safety Voice Commands

People often ask, "What is the fastest way to lock a Tesla?" Aside from tapping the lock/unlock icon on the screen, you can also use a voice command!

• "Lock doors" will lock your Tesla doors.
• "Unlock doors" will unlock the doors.
• "Save" will save the most recent 10 minutes of dashcam footage. Honking your horn or tapping the dashcam icon can also do this if you have these options toggled, but using the voice command is a lot more discreet and safe.
• "Keep (almost any word) safe" will turn on Sentry Mode. I tried "keep Tesla safe," "keep husband safe," and "keep summer safe," and they all worked to enable Sentry Mode!
• "Enable Sentry Mode" also works, or "activate" or other synonyms.
• "Call 911" will call the emergency services using your phone, as long as your phone is connected to the Tesla via Bluetooth.

Call or Text Using Tesla Voice Commands

Calling and texting in a Tesla is no different than it is in other cars that allow you to connect your phone via Bluetooth. Simply say:

• "Call (name of contact)" to call them.
• "Text (name)" to text them. You can also say "send a message" or other alternatives. You will then be able to dictate a text the way you would on your phone. Don’t forget to use punctuation and emojis by saying "question mark" and "smiley face."
• "Respond to text" can be used after a text comes in and you had the Tesla read it.

Open YouTube & Other Media Voice Commands

Another unique thing about Teslas is that the infotainment system offers not just music but apps like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube! Plus, you can use the browser to search for anything on the web. In order to access some of these features, you need to have Tesla Premium Connectivity or be connected to Wi-Fi. Theater and Arcade are disabled while driving, so try these commands while safely parked:

• "Open (app name)" will open the app of your choice, like Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
• "Play (name of song, artist, or album)" will play the song.
• "Search for (anything you wish to search on the web)" will search for that text in the browser using Google.
• "Volume up" will turn the volume up, with alternative phrases like "louder volume" or "turn up the volume" working as well.
• "Volume down" will turn down the volume, as will various alternative phrases.
• "Set volume to (number)" will adjust the volume.
• "Mute media" will turn the volume all the way down. "Mute music," or the name of an app, can be used too.
• “Unmute media” will then revert to the previous volume.

Open Butthole, Lock Doors & Other Physical Tesla Controls

Here are the most useful voice commands that control the physical (hardware) aspects of your Tesla.

• "Open the butthole" sounds dirty, but it actually just opens the Tesla charging port.
• "Open charging port" will also open it, if you prefer a more serious voice command.
• "Open trunk" will open the trunk.
• "Close trunk" will close the trunk if you have a compatible Tesla or third-party gear that enables automatic closing.
• "Open frunk" will open the front truck, coined the "frunk" by Tesla users.
• "Close frunk" will close the front trunk if you have a compatible Tesla or third-party gear that enables automatic closing.
• "Turn on windshield wipers" will turn on the windshield wipers, but if you have them set to Automatic, they might not start wiping unless the Tesla detects rain. If you switch them to the manual, you can turn them on and off and control the speed by saying "increase/decrease windshield wipers speed," "turn up/down," "raise/lower speed," "min/max" or other synonyms.
• "Set wipers to (speed number)" will also turn them to the requested speed.
• "Adjust steering wheel" will open the settings on your Tesla display that will let you adjust your steering wheel, but only while you are parked.
• "Fold mirrors" will fold the mirrors in, but only while you are parked.
• "Unfold mirrors" will unfold them, again only while parked, for safety reasons.
• "Turn on lights" will turn on all the inside lights in your Tesla. I wasn’t able to turn on just the front or just the back lights; it was either all or nothing. 
• "Turn off lights" will turn all the inside lights off.
• "Open sunroof" will open the sunroof if your Tesla has one. Unfortunately, only the 2012 Tesla Model S has one.
• "Open glove box" will open the glove box. If you have a pin code set up, it will pull up the number pad on your touchscreen display, and once you tap in the code, the glove box will open.

Siri-Specific Tesla Voice Commands

If your iPhone is connected to your Tesla via Bluetooth, you'll be able to use certain Siri commands. What I love about this is that you don't need to activate voice controls using the steering wheel, and instead, you can just say "Hey Siri" or "Siri" if you are running iOS 17 or later. For this to work, you need to have Siri voice commands enabled on your iPhone. You can learn more Siri tricks in our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

• "Hey Siri, do I need to charge the car?" will tell you how much battery your Tesla has.
• "Hey Siri, what’s the charge level on the car?" will also tell you how charged your Tesla battery is.
• "Hey Siri, open the trunk" will open the trunk.
• "Hey Siri, open the frunk" will open the frunk or front trunk.
• "Hey Siri, lock the doors" will lock all the doors in the Tesla.

Other Tesla Voice Commands

It is almost impossible to list every single Tesla command because there are so many ways to phrase each command and because they are a little different depending on your Tesla model and what features you have.

• "Open energy app" will open the energy app that shows you your past and predicted energy consumption, a useful tool for Tesla trip planning.
• "Show energy graph" will also open the app and specifically show you the energy graph.
• "Open (app name)" will open basically any app that’s available on your Tesla. You can also use the word “show” instead of “open” in most cases.
• "Open (setting name)" is a great shortcut to take you to any Tesla setting that might otherwise require lots of tapping. Plus, whenever the Tesla updates, the settings tend to move around a bit and can be harder to find.
• "Open browser" will open the Tesla browser.
• "Search Google for weather" will search the internet for the weather forecast and will show the results in the browser like it would on your phone or computer.
• "Go to Tesla.com" will open the official Tesla website that you can then navigate on your touchscreen display.
• "Check tire pressure" will show your Tesla’s tire pressure on the touchscreen display.
• "Turn on/off the dome light" will turn the lights inside the car on or off.
• "Fog lights on: will turn on the fog lights.
• "Increase screen brightness" will increase the brightness of your touchscreen display. You can also say "decrease" to turn it down or use synonyms such as "turn down/up" or "lower/raise."

I did my best listing all the useful Tesla voice commands and explaining the various ways you can use them that suit you best! There may be more that I missed, or a few that only work on certain Tesla models or when parked or while driving. Next, learn how to unlock your Tesla with an Apple Watch car key!

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