Tesla is preparing to launch its own in-car voice assistant, according to information in the source code of the latest update.

For a few years now, Elon Musk has been talking about Tesla having its own voice assistant inside its vehicles.

After he launched his own AI startup xAI, Musk suggested that Tesla could work with the company to deploy its chatbot inside its vehicles.

It looks like Tesla is now preparing for the launch of its voice assistant.

Tesla is currently pushing out its new 2024.14.3 software update, which includes a lot of official cool new features, but there are also things hidden in the code.

Green, a Tesla hacker who often finds unreleased features inside Tesla’s code, has revealed that some code in the update points to Tesla launching its own voice assistant:

Nothing else is known about the new Tesla voice assistant yet, but Musk has previously stated that he wants Tesla drivers to have nothing to input manually inside the vehicle. He wants the car to anticipate the driver’s needs, and if it can’t, he would prefer inputs through voice command.

According to Green’s sleuthing, Tesla is also preparing to introduce a native Amazon Music app inside its vehicles.

With 2023.14.3, Tesla introduced a native Audible app, which is also an Amazon product.

There’s no word on the timing for the official release of the features revealed by the update’s source code.

When Gogoro rolled out its new high-performance electric scooter, the Pulse, the world got its first glimpse of an entirely new side of the company. Best known for its battery-swapping system and cute, brightly-colored scooters, the Pulse launched an edgy new look for Gogoro. But even more importantly, it also showed off an entire suite of new high-tech innovations.

And so when I received an invite to be the first Westerner to test ride the Pulse and share the experience with the world, I jumped on it. Every company seems to proclaim that their new e-scooter is like none other before, but only the Gogoro Pulse is one of the few that can truly mean it. This electric scooter marks a paradigm shift in what is possible for this form factor and with Gogoro’s swappable battery standard.

Gogoro Pulse First Ride Video

To get a sense of what it’s like to throw a leg over this scooter, check out my video below.

But don’t forget to keep reading afterward, for all of the fun details!

I arrived early in the morning at a nondescript, largely abandoned airstrip in central Taiwan. There weren’t any planes on the tarmac, but lined up at the end of the single runway was something that looked just as fast and aerodynamic – the Gogoro Pulse electric scooter.

In fact, there were around a dozen of the silvery, angular scooters. Lined up shoulder to shoulder, they beckoned for an afternoon of fun. I soon found myself shoulder to shoulder as well, though it was with around 40 local journalists, all as eager as I was to get a first ride on the powerful, techie new electric two-wheeler. There was so much shared excitement in the air, I almost didn’t notice the “one of these things isn’t like the other” moment I was having, at least until the Mandarin started flying.

After a short safety briefing (that I thankfully had a translator for, thanks Cameron!) and a chance to gear up, we were off to the races. Literally. There was a drag strip set up as one of several testing stations, making full use of the short runway to test the most powerful mode on the scooter: Launch Mode. It unlocks every last watt available from the 9 kW-rated powertrain, letting riders absolutely fly off the starting line. But more on that in a moment.

First, I got to test out the traction control. In a sandy area off to the side of the airstrip, a coned-off section of loose sand and dust made for the perfect (i.e., worst) conditions. The scooter comes with a specially designed Dirt Mode meant to help keep traction on loose surfaces like this. It relies on the company’s new Hypercore, a powerful smart system that delivers state-of-the-art traction control.

I’m not much of a dirt rider myself, and you’re more likely to find me riding elbow distance between two delivery trucks than hugging the berms on trails. But I still did my best to get the scooter sideways.

Even in that loose and silty soil, each time I felt the rear starting to fishtail, the traction control helped me bring it back and keep the rubber side down. I was sure I would lose it a few times, but somehow the Pulse seemed to anticipate my pending disaster in the turns and take care of the hard parts for me.

From there, I moved to the slalom course, which was a series of cones set up on the angle strip. Gogoro’s pro rider showed me a demo first, in which he rode so fast and cornered so hard through the slalom that he dragged the edge of the side stand more than once. I certainly wasn’t about to push it that hard and leave bits of steel on the asphalt, but I still enjoyed pushing the scooter through the course and feeling how easy it was to flick back and forth.

Of course, the main event was that Launch Mode demonstration, where I got to line back up on the main strip with a set of Christmas tree lights counting me down for good measure.

To enable this ultra-fast takeoff program, you have to initiate launch mode with a video game-style series of secret inputs, the last of which includes holding in the rear brake lever like a clutch. If you put the cheat code in successfully, you’ll get the prompt and the scooter will literally start shaking. It’s actually just the mid-mounted motor cleverly rocking itself to create the simulation of a high-revving engine ready to pop the clutch. And to launch, that’s exactly what you do – except that the clutch is really the rear brake lever, and releasing it sends you flying down the road at peak acceleration. It’s hard to explain what 378 Nm (279 lb-ft) of torque at the rear wheel feels like, but I definitely saw another journalist almost slip off the back of the scooter when he wasn’t expecting the acceleration to be so punchy.

I only had 250 meters (820 feet) before the “STOP” section of the course began, but I was already into the triple digits on the speedometer, which converting km/h into mph means I had just surpassed 62 mph before having to quickly engage the brakes as the end of the course neared.

Each test was designed to show off another aspect of the Gogoro’s Pulse performance, from the traction control to the maneuverability and finally the insane power that can be unleashed by those brave enough to demand it.

But what’s perhaps even more impressive isn’t the groundbreaking performance but rather the technology that ties it all together.

The Gogoro Pulse shares several features that sound more at home on new sports cars than on an electric scooter. The scooter’s Smart Cockpit dashboard is built around a massive 10.25-inch panoramic HD touch display that integrates with Gogoro’s iQ Touch HD user interface. The new iQ Touch HD system offers a variety of new features and services, including different ride modes, turn-by-turn GPS navigation with real-time traffic information, and Gogoro GoStation locations for quick and convenient battery swaps. Fortunately, I was glad to see that there are still easy-to-use push-button controls and dials. Touch screens are nice for something things, but I’ll never want to give up the tactile feedback of real buttons and knobs. The mode selector is an oversized and generously knurled physical knob, which makes you feel like you’re selecting functions in a fighter jet cockpit. Now THAT’S a knob!

I’m glad to hear that turn-by-turn GPS navigation will be available on the screen, though that feature wasn’t quite finished during our testing. I can picture in my head what a map looks like on a giant screen though, so I’m just glad to hear it’s coming. That also means I don’t need to keep my phone on the handlebars anymore when I want to use a nav app – I can just let the scooter’s massive display handle it for me.

Gogoro’s Smart Cockpit also makes the Pulse the first two-wheel vehicle in the world to be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon QWM2290 digital chassis. Again, this is stuff that has no business being on a two-wheeler, at least not until Gogoro decided that riders shouldn’t have to take a backseat to drivers anymore in the technology department.

And then there’s the headlight. Or I guess I should say, headlights. An array of 13 individual LED units fire on and off dynamically depending on riding conditions, helping to throw the beam closer or further depending on speed, as well as angling the light around curves when necessary, all without any physically moving parts.

And while I didn’t actually test this part out during the test riding since you just can’t go very far within the confines of an airstrip, the scooters obviously make use of Gogoro’s world-famous battery-swapping standard.

That means you get the benefits of Gogoro’s recognizable bright green batteries that are spread all over the markets where Gogoro operates. In Tapei, riders are never more than a few hundred meters from a battery-swapping station. Across the island, thousands of stations perform hundreds of thousands of battery swaps daily.

And now Gogoro is in more countries across Asia than I can keep track of anymore. The options are growing seemingly every month.

The beauty of this battery-swapping system is that range simply doesn’t matter anymore. Who cares if the scooter can get 50 km or 150 km of range? It doesn’t really matter since, in both situations, you’ll probably pass 100 different battery-swapping stations during that time.

So as you can see, this isn’t just a high-performance electric scooter. It’s also a high tech vehicle that takes advantage of much of the tech we generally associate with luxury cars, but has now been brought to us as riders.

Having ridden around Taipei recently, I can tell you that this is probably more scooter than many people will need. It’s just so much power and performance that it’s the equivalent of a sports car in a city. But then again, sports cars are fun for the simple fact that they’re fun, so even locked in a city, the Pulse would be a blast. But once you can get out onto some faster roads and really open it up, that’s where the scooter will come alive.

If staying in a city, that Launch Mode can still be fun, but I don’t think many people need to fly off as quickly as this scooter can each time the light turns green. But what it does do is give riders the opportunity to do more with their ride. The same bike that serves as a weekly commuter can also be a fun weekend performance ride up and down twisting mountain roads. It can take you offroad and onto the trails, knowing full well that traction control is there to back you up. And it can enable safer riding with GPS navigation front and center where you need it and lighting that predicts your turns to illuminate the curves ahead of you.

That’s pretty darn impressive for an electric scooter, if you ask me!

Acura has officially launched its first-ever BEV – the ZDX, and we at Electrek got the invite to Montecito, California, to test drive the top-tier S-Line trim of the crossover SUV. Acura did many things right in its first venture into electrification, but is it worthy of the performance grade the Honda division is known for? Even more, is it worth the price tag? You be the judge.

A quick background on the arrival of the Acura ZDX

It has been about nine months since Acura unveiled the ZDX to the public during Monterey Car Week last summer. The all-electric ZDX kicks off a new era for Acura, one that its team is quite proud of as the automotive industry, including its parent company, Honda, begins to embrace BEVs.

The crossover is the first all-electric offering from the Honda luxury and performance sub-brand and should not be confused with the combustion fastback by the same name that preceded it many years ago.

 During its unveiling, we learned the ZDX would be available in an A-Spec version, complete with single—and dual-motor powertrain options and a dual-motor Type S trim that includes an exclusive “Double Apex Blue Pearl” exterior paint.

In December 2023, Acura opened up reservations for the BEV, sharing that the previously mentioned A-Spec trim would start at an MSRP of around $60,000 for RWD and around $70,000 for the S-Line.

By January 2024, we got official pricing, which was a bit higher than initially promised unless you include the maximum federal tax credits available in the US, which this model should qualify for. More on that later, but for now, we’re going to run you through the specs of the ZDX S-Line – the model we got the chance to test out recently around Santa Barbara and Montecito. Here are some images of the exterior.

Experiencing the Acura ZDX S-Line, inside and out

To begin, the 2024 Acura ZDX arrives in three separate trims: RWD and AWD versions of the A-Spec and the top-tier AWD S-Line—the variant we tested out. All models are the same size—197.7 inches long by 77 inches wide and 64.4 inches tall, with a wheelbase of 121.8 inches.

Each variant also features the same 102 kWh battery pack, but the BEV’s platform offers somewhat disappointing charge rates – 10 to 20% in 42 minutes on a DC fast charger. For the sake of comparison, here are how the performance specs break down by trim, including the S-Line.

As the premium trim level, the Acura ZDX S-Line also has the $1,000 add-on option for 22-inch Berlina black performance wheels and 275 / 40R22 summer tires from Continental instead of the standard all-seasons.

Starting with the exterior, you’ll notice a wide and long stance, similar to the Honda Prologue we previously tested, that shares many of the same BEV DNA (much of which came from GM). Starting with the front, you’ll notice a new diamond pentagon grille that is illuminated, alongside an Acura badge that is much more subtle compared to its other models.

The S-Type I drove comes equipped with a Berlina Black lower grille beneath the 3D embossed diamond, as well as a black upper cabin – perfectly matching the wheel upgrade if you opt in on it.

You’ll notice “Jewel Eye” LED headlights and metallic gray runners along the wheelbase in the images above. I am not a fan of the gray on the sides, as I feel it takes away from the luxury feel Acura usually tries to achieve.

The ZDX body curves inward toward the rear to increase aerodynamics, where you’ll find a subtle tuned spoiler and RR diffuser. The result is a crossover BEV with a low center of gravity and near 50/50 weight distribution, creating a clean exit flow of air that equates to a smooth and quiet ride.

Next, let’s move into the interior of the Acura ZDX S-Line.

Overall, the inside of Acura’s first all-electric crossover is roomy and comfortable, but it by no means screams luxury. The dash components and door trims were quality and sturdy, but there was still plenty of plastic and other composites present.

These elements were actually quite nice, but they don’t match the price point Acura is asking for this BEV, but more on that in a bit. I found the seats very comfortable, and I liked the white interior leather with the S-Line logo embossed in the front headrests—a nice sporty touch.

You know I always test out the air-conditioned seats, and in the case of the ZDX, I found them adequate. They definitely worked, but after a while, I had to check and see if they were still on. However, I remained cool as both a driver and a passenger, so they got the job done.

Acura ZDX’s interior features two digital displays – an 11-inch “Digital Gauge Cluster” and an 11.3-inch center screen with Google built-in. It will also be the first Acura vehicle equipped with a Bang & Olufsen audio system, consisting of 18 speakers throughout the cabin – standard on all ZDX trims. That’s a nice touch for sure; the system was boomin’.

Beneath the displays, the extra-wide center console offered plenty of room for storing phones, drinks, and other belongings, and the storage below is perfect for a purse or perhaps some snacks. Why not? I would have preferred the wireless phone charger to be up front near the flat part of the console instead of vertical in a little nook you have to shove it into.

The metal sport pedals were a nice touch, but that’s really the only design element in the ZDX that makes it feel sporty. It also doesn’t feel luxurious either. So what is it? That’s where I struggle.

On that note, let’s dig into my experience driving the Acura ZDX S-Type, shall we?

Driving impressions

To begin, I want to point out that the 2024 Acura ZDX S-Type comes with four different drive modes: Normal, Sport, Individual, and Snow – the latter of which utilizes air suspension to raise the vehicle 25mm. I tested three of the four, as there was no snow in the middle of California in April, but I have some thoughts.

First of all, the button to switch between drive modes on the lower dash to the left of the steering wheel. I knew where to look for it after driving the Prologue, but this placement could be better for safe driving. My driving partner and I struggled to find and tap it while behind the wheel without taking our eyes off the road. You sort of have to lean over and reach for it. I would have preferred to have it as a toggle on the steering wheel.

Normal mode was completely fine, and I found the regenerative braking to be superb in this BEV, especially at its highest setting. One-pedal driving is possible, but again, you must activate a lock mode next to the drive mode button so the vehicle doesn’t creep. Why?

I felt a slight shift when switching to Sport mode, but I would argue the average driver really wouldn’t notice. The dampers offer less vibration, but the electric motor is significantly louder, adding to the ambiance; in terms of overall acceleration, I didn’t feel much “oomph” compared to regular mode.

Still, the dual motors provided plenty of power to easily overtake slower cars (and other journalists) on the highway. I have no qualms with the torque and acceleration from me. I truly loved the Acura ZDX’s ADAS functions, which it calls “Hands-Free Cruise.” Let’s be honest, though; it’s just GM’s SuperCruise – it even has the green bar on the steering wheel (mind you, a wheel that closely resembles the Blazer EV) to let you know when the feature is activated.

That said, the hands free driving worked like a charm and safely switched lanes on its own several times without issue. You can view that autonomous magic in my comprhensive video below. The Head Up Display was fine too. You could clearly see your speed, but there were no other prompts such as navigation. Our particular ZDX must have had a sensor issue because the neither the digital gauge nor the HUD could read speed limit signs – that metric remained blank during the entire drive.

The cluster itself is inherently Acura, but there is much evidence that the ZDX is rooted in GM’s design DNA, similar to the Cadillac LYRIQ, Blazer EV, and the Honda Prologue. I believe that in a lot of the design elements, particularly the cockpit, Acura’s hands were tied (at least financially) to stick with the same components and their placement rather than do redesigns.

It will be interesting to see how Acura’s follow-up to the ZDX will look, assuming it will be a completely bespoke model. I’m particularly interested in learning what architecture and ADAS Honda will deliver as it has now gotten its beak wet in BEVs.

Overall, I think the ZDX is an excellent start for the brand, but it doesn’t scream 100% Acura because it really isn’t. I would classify it as an excellent beginner-level BEV, but I fear consumers will opt for more affordable options for the same… or, in some cases, better performance specs. I think pricing will be the most detrimental to ZDX’s success in the current market. Speaking of which…

Pricing, availability, and our video review of the Acura ZDX

The 2024 Acura ZDX is available for configuration and purchase now and starts at the following MSRPs:

What do you think? Would you shell out $65k for the new Acura ZDX? What about $74,500 for the S-Type with performance wheels? I further summarize my experience with the latest all-electric crossover in the video review below.