Tesla Will Soon 'Talk To People,' Musk Hints New Feature

Tesla Inc. TSLA could soon roll out a feature to let Tesla vehicles communicate with those in their immediate surroundings, the company's founder and chief executive officer Elon Musk suggested on Sunday.

What Happened

"Teslas will soon talk to people if you want. This is real," Musk said in a tweet, posting a video preview of how the feature could look like in action. "And, of course, your car will be able to [fart] in their general direction," the billionaire CEO added.

Teslas will soon talk to people if you want. This is real. pic.twitter.com/8AJdERX5qa

— Buff Mage (@elonmusk) January 12, 2020

"Well, don't just stand there staring, hop in," the Tesla car in the video seems to be saying, followed by another less audible comment. It's unclear exactly what this feature will look like, as Musk didn't give further details.

According to a publication Electrek, this could be Tesla trying to make something better out of being forced to install external speakers in their vehicles under the United States and the European Union laws. The regulations require all-electric vehicles, which could be otherwise near-silent, to have noise-emitting devices to warn pedestrians of their presence when driving at low speeds. In response to a tweet, Musk added that Tesla would be able to talk to pedestrians, although exactly what it will say to them other than warning them of its movement remains unclear.

Price Action

Tesla's shares closed 0.66% lower at $478.15 on Friday.