{"id":215768,"date":"2021-12-24T13:08:03","date_gmt":"2021-12-24T18:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=215768"},"modified":"2021-12-24T13:08:11","modified_gmt":"2021-12-24T18:08:11","slug":"tesla-ends-motorists-playing-video-games-while-driving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2021\/12\/tesla-ends-motorists-playing-video-games-while-driving\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla Ends Motorists Playing Video Games While Driving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Facing a backlash from regulators and safety advocates, Tesla has deactivated a feature that has allowed its vehicle owners to play videogames while driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tesla
Tesla’s only impediment to using games while driving is a button asking if the player is the passenger. It’s deacativated the feature with its latest over-the-air update.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But drivers will now get a new feature to play with. As part of a \u201choliday update\u201d to its in-car software, Tesla models built since 2019 will be able to be used as megaphones, so motorists can engage with passersby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tesla has faced the wrath of the safety community this past year, regulators looking into a variety of problems, including alleged faults with the latest-generation Autopilot system. But things took a new turn when, earlier this month, it was revealed that Tesla had activated several video games that could be played on a vehicle\u2019s infotainment screen, even while in motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dumbfounded<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That is a major no-no, as far as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is concerned. The agency doesn\u2019t even allow motorists to pair their Bluetooth smartphones while in motion. Tesla sought to work around the issue by first popping up a screen saying only passengers could play the games. But, as Model 3 owner Vince Patton said in a complaint filed with NHTSA, a driver simply had to tap the screen and games like Solitaire and \u201cSky Force Reloaded,\u201d were activated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was just dumbfounded,\u201d Patton told the Associated Press. \u201cSomebody\u2019s going to get killed,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely insane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tesla
Tesla’s latest update ended Passenger Play, but did give owners a new function: a Megaphone.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The over-the-air updates Tesla uses to send new software to vehicles like the Model 3 also allow it to deactivate features remotely. And, Tesla said, that is what it\u2019s now done. “Following the opening of a preliminary evaluation of Tesla’s ‘Passenger Play,’ Tesla told NHTSA it is \u201cchanging the functionality of this feature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The games will continue to be available but, “In a new software update, ‘Passenger Play’ will now be locked and unusable when the vehicle is in motion,” NHTSA said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distracted driving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TheDetroitBureau.com reached out to Tesla for comment but the automaker has disbanded its media relations department and rarely responds to queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distracted driving is a growing concern, federal regulators and other safety advocates estimating it is responsible for at least 10% of America\u2019s annual highway fatalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Patton
Journalist Vince Patton demonstrates its possible to play video games while driving his Tesla Model 3.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tesla has come under repeated fire for failing to address issues of distracted driving, along with the design of its Autopilot and \u201cFull Self-Driving\u201d technologies. An early fatality linked to Autopilot was blamed on the driver, a former Navy SEAL, believed to have been watching a video on a portable device when his Model S sedan drove into the side of a truck. An ongoing NHTSA investigation is probing why a number of Tesla vehicles have reportedly driven into parked emergency vehicles while Autopilot is operating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Tesla appears to have been chastened by the latest flap over the \u201cPassenger Play\u201d function, it clearly isn\u2019t backing off when it comes to adding new features to its vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking your mind<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the 2020 holiday season it introduced a \u201cboombox\u201d function that allows drivers to blast sounds through an exterior speaker normally used at low speeds to alert pedestrians and bicyclists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s holiday update turns the exterior speaker into a megaphone. Drivers will be able to express themselves while on the road, whether to talk about politics, perhaps, or to flirt with passing pedestrians. Perhaps CEO Elon Musk will use his personal Tesla to remind everyone that his net worth is now well into nine figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s unclear if NHTSA will find fault with the megaphone function but the U.S. Vehicle Safety Act bars automakers from installing features or functions \u2014 or tolerating defects \u2014 that pose \u201cunreasonable risks to safety.\u201d That might not take in the annoyances a megaphone feature might cause to everyone outside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facing a backlash from regulators and safety advocates, Tesla has deactivated a feature that has allowed its vehicle owners to play videogames while driving. But drivers will now get a new feature to play with: Megaphone. It allows drivers to engage with people outside their vehicle, reports TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,1169,11,9],"tags":[2204,4151,4149,4150,386],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215768"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215768"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215778,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215768\/revisions\/215778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215768"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=215768"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=215768"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=215768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}