James May criticises ‘insincere’ Tesla Model 3 AI assistant

The former Top Gear presenter tested the Grok-powered voice assistant during a drive to Hull for a gin meet-and-greet, as featured in a video on his Planet Gin YouTube channel which was published on Sunday (August 16).

He and producer Lucy Brown explored the features of Tesla’s Model 3 and interacted with the chatbot, which was set to the Ara personality.

The system offers several personas, including Ara, an upbeat female voice, and Eve, which is more soothing.

May and Brown tried out several features in conversation with the voice assistant, including playing a children’s trivia game, sarcastically seeking extreme medical advice and asking the voice assistant to switch to a British accent.

The presenter also asked it to use cockney rhyming slang, to which it replied: “Sure thing, me old China plate.

“What’s on your mind, apples and pears?”

Speaking to the AI assistant, May said that it appeared that the programme had been created by “socially awkward” people and their idea of what a charming person would sound like.

“It’s slightly odd; you don’t seem that human,” he said.

He added: “All those tech bros and people, tech bros and sisters, working at X will be incredibly nerdy and quite clever, but I would suspect a bit socially inept.

“They’ve got this idea in their head of what should be done to make Ara sound a bit cool and kooky and slightly familiar, and therefore rather charming, but she just comes across as insincere and phoney.”

James May to reunite with Clarkson and Hammond on The Grand Tour

Earlier in August, it was revealed that James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond would reunite on The Grand Tour for a brief appearance.

Having fronted six series since 2016, the trio will help introduce the new team of presenters.

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YouTubers Thomas Holland and James Engelsman, best known for their channel Throttle House, join train enthusiast and internet personality Francis Bourgeois as the new hosts.

The final episode featuring Clarkson, Hammond, and May as presenters was released in September 2024.

Prime Video has confirmed that all six episodes of the rebooted series will be available to stream from Friday, September 4.

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