U.S. auto safety regulators said they were officially investigating the safety feature on Tesla vehicles that potentially allows drivers to play video games on their touch screen while the vehicle is moving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the probe covers around 580,000 Teslas sold since 2017.
Passenger Play, which has been available since December 2020, “may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash,” according to the NHTSA. Prior to 2020, games could only be played on the touch screen when the vehicles were parked. Today, although the game feature asks for confirmation that the player is a passenger, the driver could still theoretically play just by pressing the button.
Tesla has been in hot water since the NHTSA started an investigation into Tesla’s driver-assistance system (aka autopilot) in August, which has caused numerous crashes and even some fatalities. Between this and Passenger Play, Tesla vehicles could face a massive recall in the near future.
Earlier in December, Mercedes-Benz issued a recall for a similar issue, as many of their drivers were also playing games on the touch-screen while driving. Tesla has yet to issue a recall, but they have now updated the software to disable the features while the cars are in motion.
(All information was provided by Deutsche Welle)
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