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Tesla Adopts DeepSeek and ByteDance’s Doubao for China Cars

Hosting the tools on ByteDance’s Volcano Engine signals a localization pivot following Grok’s limits, with Tesla seeking to steady China sales.

Photo: STR / AFP (Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Tesla documents confirm DeepSeek as the in-car chatbot and ByteDance’s Doubao as the voice assistant in China, starting with the new Model YL.
  • Doubao will control vehicle functions such as climate, navigation, and media with a new “Hey, Tesla” wake word, a level of access Grok does not have in U.S. cars.
  • Both AI models will be hosted on ByteDance’s Volcano Engine, aligning the deployment with China-based cloud infrastructure.
  • Outlets note the move follows weakening performance in China, with reported delivery declines including an 8.4% drop from December to June year over year.
  • Reporting also points to regulatory or legal hurdles as a possible reason Grok wasn’t used in China, while Tesla and ByteDance declined to comment.