Watch Siri Open the Trunk of a Tesla Model Y
How good is this!!! The @Tesla Model Y can open and close via Siri. You don’t need an automatic foot sensor when you can just have your phone do it hands free. Sorry if you Siri hears this. #ModelY pic.twitter.com/AQElQP8Mmi
— Ryan Wallace (@RyanMWal) April 7, 2020
Apple’s Siri voice assistant can open the trunk of a Tesla Model Y car when the right app is used. Ryan Wallace demonstrated the voice control of the trunk in a video posted on Twitter.
Siri Meet Tesla
In the video, Wallace uses the Stats: For Tesla Model S/X/3 app on an iPhone to connect the car with Siri. When he activates Siri, the voice assistant follows his request to open and close the trunk. The Stats app is able to activate the trunk because it can integrate Siri into its control of the car. According to his comments in the video, he could use Siri to run the trunk through an Apple Watch as well as the iPhone. As Wallace mentions in the tweet, it’s easier to use voice to open the trunk than Tesla’s standard foot sensor.
The demonstration is for the Tesla Model Y, which is the only Tesla car that will open its trunk through a Siri request. But, as the full name of the Stats app suggests, Siri can still perform other tasks with other Tesla models. Any Tesla owner can use Siri to lock doors, turn on air conditioning and heat, or activate the Tesla security system known as Sentry Mode. If the iPhone user sets up Siri correctly, the voice assistant will only respond to the owner, which is particularly important in making sure someone else couldn’t use the smartphone to open the trunk and steal the car.
Car Voice Tech
The Stats app doesn’t work at all with other voice assistants at the moment, so Android phones with Google Assistant wouldn’t be able to do the same. But, voice technology in cars is very much a growth industry. Amazon and Google have rushed out all kinds of car-focused features for Alexa and Google Assistant of late, with new partners like partners, expansion to motorcycles, and even offering voice payment for gas. Cerence, a company built around AI for cars, has similarly been busy, rolling out the option for simultaneous multiple voice assistants in a car and a tool for customizing the voice of car voice assistants. Tesla has been relatively slow to integrate much in the way of voice technology. Still, the demand for it is likely to grow, and experiments like this using third-party software will probably continue.
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