The U.S. safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, says it is “aware” of the ability of some Tesla games that can be played while the car is driving.
“We are aware of driver concerns and are discussing the feature with the manufacturer,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement to the New York Times.
Tesla Arcade is the feature that offers various games for owners to play while parked. With Tesla’s 2021.12.25.6 software update from July added Solitaire, The Battle of Polytopia and Sky Force Reloaded, which can be played by a passenger while driving. Tesla does give a warning prompt when attempting to access the games when the vehicle is in drive.
“Distraction-affected crashes are a concern, particularly in vehicles equipped with an array of convenience technologies such as entertainment screens,” said the NHTSA. “The Vehicle Safety Act prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles with design defects posing unreasonable risks to safety.”
Model 3 owner Vince Patton told the NYT he was surprised this was possible after watching the following YouTube video and then trying it out himself.
“I only did it for like five seconds and then turned it off,” said Patton. “I’m astonished. To me, it just seems inherently dangerous.”
It was after realizing it was possible to play these three games while driving, did Patton file a complaint to the NHTSA through its website.
Now, while this may appear to be a ‘big deal’ to mainstream media, Tesla can easily send out a software update and disable these three games from being played while driving, thus satisfying the concerns of Patton and the NHTSA.
