Game Over: NHTSA closes investigation into Tesla’s in-car gaming feature

The US safety agency had raised concerns about the ability to play video games on Tesla’s infotainment screens while driving

for Chris Chilton

May 30, 2023 at 2:03 p.m

Someday, maybe not too many years from now, we’ll be able to plug a destination into a car’s navigation screen and play an entire journey. But in December 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided that day was still a long way off.

That’s the date NHTSA opened an investigation into Tesla’s Passenger Play feature that allowed video games to be played on an electric vehicle’s infotainment screen even while the cars were in motion.

Now, eighteen months later, the NHTSA has announced that it is closing this investigation and will not require a recall of 580,000 Tesla vehicles affected by the problem. But he made it clear that doing so should not be taken as an indication that no security-related flaws exist. “Furthermore, it does not preclude the agency from taking further action, if warranted,” he added.

NHTSA’s decision not to issue a recall must have been heavily influenced by Tesla’s decision to stop moving games a month after NHTSA opened its investigation. He disabled the feature via an over-the-air software update and reported a 97 percent completion rate within a month of making the switch.

Related: New BMW 5 Series Gets Gaming With AirConsole, Turn Your Smartphone Into Controllers

Tesla did not report any crashes to NHTSA that may have involved the use of Passenger Play during the period it was available. But the agency said the data showed a third of journeys during that period were from cars in motion with Passenger Play in use, showing how important it was that these features were blocked or came with disclaimers on the screen. NHTSA said its own analysis of the Tesla data “raised significant concerns about driver distraction during the time it was available.”

But that’s no longer a major concern for Tesla or the NHTSA, which is embroiled in another potentially much larger safety-related investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot system and its role in Tesla cars crashing into vehicles emergency vehicles parked.

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Some day, perhaps not too many years from now, we’ll be able to plug a destination into a car’s nav screen and game away an entire journey. But in December 2021 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided that day was still some way off."
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That’s the date the NHTSA opened an investigation into Tesla’s Passenger Play feature that allowed video games to be played on an EV’s infotainment screen even when the cars were on the move."
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Now, eighteen months later, the NHTSA has announced it’s closing that investigation and won’t be demanding a recall of 580,000 Tesla vehicles affected by the issue. But it made clear that doing so shouldn’t be taken as an indication that no safety-related defect exists. “Furthermore, it does not foreclose the agency from taking further action, if warranted,” it added."
  [3]=>
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The NHTSA’s decision not to issue a recall must have been strongly influenced by Tesla’s move to stop the playing of games on the move a month after the NHTSA opened its investigation. It disabled the feature via an over-air software update and reported a 97 percent completion rate within a month of making the change."
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Related: New BMW 5-Series Has AirConsole Gaming, Turns Your Smartphone Into Controllers"
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Tesla did not report any crashes to NHTSA that may have involved the use of Passenger Play during the period it was available.  But the agency said the data showed a third of journeys during that period were from cars in motion with Passenger Play in use, showing how important it was that these features were blocked or came with disclaimers on the screen.  NHTSA said its own analysis of the Tesla data "raised significant concerns about driver distraction during the time it was available."
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But that's no longer a major concern for Tesla or the NHTSA, which are embroiled in another potentially much larger safety-related investigation into Tesla's Autopilot system and its role in Tesla cars crashing into parked emergency vehicles".
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