Elon Musk (and a group of investors) bought Twitter for better or for worse. One of the things to come out of it was Grok which is now Grok is available for progressive downloads to Teslas across Australia and New Zealand. Tesla confirmed the rollout kicks off today, Tuesday 24 February 2026, marking a shift in how local drivers interact with their trusty Tesla. It is not a broad-brush release though – oh no; the software is hitting the fleet in waves as with all OTA rollouts. Surprisingly, HW3-equipped vehicles are getting the first invite to the party. If you are sitting on HW4 hardware, your turn in the queue starts in the coming days. Hopefully the Grok companion works better in the car than it does on Twitter (again, not calling it X).
The New Co-Pilot
Grok will probably be familiar to Twitter users (and yes, I refuse to call it X) and like all AI assistants seeks to add value by being smarter than limited built-in voice commands. Built by xAI, it is being promoted as an advanced artificial intelligence that is pitched as a genuine companion for the road. It is designed to move past rigid, pre-programmed responses and provide actual insight into a wide array of queries. Although AI users know that all AIs can hallucinate, a test will prove how reliable it is in practice.
The most practical update for the daily grind is Grok’s grip on the navigation system. It can now handle destination settings, mid-trip route tweaks, or hunt down points of interest on the fly. To get the navigation features working, your car needs to be running software version 2025.44.25 or later.
Firing it up is a hardware-based affair. You enable the AI via the steering wheel, flip the personality setting to Assistant, and start talking.
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Privacy and Tech Specs
Tesla is playing it relatively safe with your data. While xAI handles the heavy lifting for processing, the interactions are anonymised. Your conversations aren’t tied back to your specific vehicle or your personal identity.
Not every Tesla on the road is invited. To host Grok, your Model S, 3, X, or Y needs to meet a specific hardware floor:
- An AMD processor is mandatory.
- You must be on vehicle software version 2025.26 or higher.
- A steady diet of Premium Connectivity or Wi-Fi is required.
Owners will get a tap on the shoulder via the Tesla App today to let them know if their car is ready for the jump.
Sadly, Model X and Model S are no longer available, and not so sadly, the troubled Cybertruck is yet to make more than a PR appearance. We live in interesting times.
Local Pricing Landscape
While the software steals the headlines, Tesla’s pared down entry price will be a big factor in the model uptake. Punters can read about the recent FSD (supervised) rollout and the subscription model changes HERE, HERE and the review HERE.
|
Model Name |
Price AUD |
Price NZD |
|
Model 3 Premium RWD |
$54,900 |
$63,900 |
|
Model 3 Premium Long Range RWD |
$61,900 |
$71,900 |
|
Model 3 Performance AWD |
$80,900 |
$84,900 |
|
Model Y Premium RWD |
$58,900 |
$67,900 |
|
Model Y Premium Long Range AWD |
$68,900 |
$77,900 |
|
Model Y Performance AWD |
$89,400 |
$100,900 |
Tesla now faces stiff competition from an ever-growing EV range from the very cheap to the ultra luxury. Significant facelifts to the Model 3 in 2024 (Highland) and Model Y in 2025 (Juniper) extended the lives of the aging Model 3/Y range. While the body and cabin remain very familiar, the hardware that drives the system is hugely upgraded from those early Model S and X units.
Following obvious attempts to move all users to a subscription model, the Grok “upgrade” looks suspiciously like another bait and switch getting owners used to, and dependent on, a feature to then move it to subscription-only.
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