The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced Tuesday that it is concluding its investigation into 580,000 Tesla vehicles since the carmaker initially decided to permit gaming on the front center touchscreen.
Concluding the inquiry without a recall request, NHTSA stated Tuesday this did not constitute “a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists.” Additionally, it does not preclude the agency from taking additional action if necessary.
Tesla informed NHTSA that throughout a year of use, no consumer complaints or collisions had been documented about the use of Passenger Play in the relevant vehicles. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NHTSA guidelines and warnings
Nearly a decade ago, NHTSA published recommendations to encourage auto manufacturers “to factor safety and driver distraction-prevention into their designs and adoption of infotainment devices in vehicles.” The recommendations made by NHTSA that in-vehicle devices be devised so that they don’t facilitate “distracting secondary tasks while driving.”
The Tesla investigation was initiated in December 2021, after a complaint was filed with the agency earlier that same month by Vince Patton, a retired journalist from Portland, Oregon. He learned about the new feature while surfing online and then took out his own Model 3 sedan. With a tap on a pull-down menu he was able to play games like Solitaire and “Sky Force Reloaded” while driving around a local college parking lot. He followed up by filing his complaint — which has triggered an initial probe by NHTSA.
“I was just dumbfounded,” Patton told the Associated Press. “Somebody’s going to get killed,” he added. “It’s absolutely insane.”
The 59-year-old former broadcaster noted he first had to click a box asking if he was a passenger. There was nothing to prevent him from doing so, even though he was actually the driver, however.
Tesla has repeatedly come under fire from groups like Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for failing to install a driver monitoring system. As a result, drivers have been reported repeatedly misusing Tesla’s Autopilot system, some even falling asleep behind the wheel after engaging the semi-autonomous technology.
Tesla promised to stop allowing video games to be played on car screens while their vehicles were in motion after the NHTSA said that it was looking into Tesla’s “Passenger Play” in December 2021.
An over-the-air update deliberately deactivated “Passenger Play” functionality with Tesla reporting a 97% completion rate to NHTSA.
Although the NHTSA stated on Tuesday that it was not requesting a recall of the vehicles, it did state that its review of the data submitted by Tesla “produced significant concerns about driver distraction during the time that it was available.”
Tesla is not alone in this
But Tesla isn’t alone in offering gaming, it’s just that it can’t be used while the vehicle is in motion. This differs from other offers, such as Holoride GmbH, a spinoff of Audi Electronics Venture GmbH that offers a virtual reality headset for some Audi models in the U.S. and Germany. But it’s designed for back seat use and since it’s VR, it’s not as if you drive and use it at the same time.
Then there’s GM Marketplace, available to owners of 2017-and-later General Motors vehicles. It allows you to order food, locate a nearby gas station, or make dinner or hotel reservations using Priceline. But it can only be used when vehicle is stationary.
Of course, other automakers, such as Mercedes-Benz and Jeep, will offer such services on separate screens in front of passengers.
But it’s not over for Tesla. NHTSA is still investigating reports of collisions involving parked emergency vehicles and 830,000 Tesla vehicles with its “Autopilot” driver assistance technology.