Security risk
Update lets Tesla owners play video games while driving
For years, traffic authorities and experts have been criticizing Tesla’s inadequate safety concept
© John Marshall Mantel / Picture Alliance
The US electric car manufacturer Tesla has again come under fire for safety concerns. An automatic update lets drivers play video games on the on-board computer at the wheel.
The criticism of Tesla’s handling of road safety just doesn’t stop. In addition to safety concerns with regard to Tesla’s autopilot, the security authorities are now increasingly giving headaches to entertainment offers. The oversized on-board computer inside the electric car has had a game function for several years. Now, in the last six months, Tesla has made the application, which was originally only available in park mode, secretly, quietly and quietly accessible to drivers as well. This emerges from research by the “New York Times”.
With the update 2021.12.25.6 Tesla not only unlocked the games “Sky Force Reloaded” and “The Battle of Polytopia: Moonrise”, but also enabled them to be played while driving. The game is played via the dashboard, which on the Tesla consists of a large touchscreen in the center console. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced in the summer that the new Model S will have the performance of a Playstation 5. In this way, high-resolution blockbuster games should also be made playable. However, mini-games such as Solitaire are already available in all popular models.
USA records more deaths from distracted road users
A message before the games indicates that the games are only intended for passengers. However, even the visibility would represent a high risk of distraction, regardless of whether the drivers actively participate in the game, according to the responsible US traffic authority.
Distracted road users are an ever-increasing component of road accidents, and not just in the USA. The accidents are often the result of smartphone use. In the United States, at least 10 percent of all traffic accidents are caused by cell phone use. Security experts, however, assume a significantly higher proportion. In the first six months of this year alone, the number of road deaths in the US reached a high since 2006.
Tesla repeatedly in criticism
For years, traffic authorities and experts have criticized Tesla for subordinating safety to innovative features and autonomous driving. Above all, the still immature autopilot system is criticized, as it allows the driver of the electric car to take their hands off the steering wheel for a longer period of time.
While many automakers such as Stellantis, General Motors and Mazda have made it impossible for drivers to operate the dashboard while driving, Tesla only relies on special cameras that follow the driver’s eye movements. However, these do not have an infrared function and are therefore practically useless in the dark. The US National Transportation Safety Board urged Tesla to use infrared technology in the future after a fatal traffic accident in 2017. Nothing has happened so far.
In the past five years, at least 12 people in the United States have died of inattentiveness while driving while Tesla’s autopilot system was activated. The new game function will probably add to the uncertainty. In the meantime, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has intervened and is investigating the update, as the organization announced on Wednesday. They were concerned that the games could have a distracting influence on the drivers and had contacted Tesla. Elon Musk has so far not wanted to comment on the allegations.
Sources: The New York Times, Reuters, t3n