Being able to play video games in your car was once the realm of The Fast and the Furious movies, but Tesla made it a reality a few years ago. It’s been a popular feature, and given how much of a total snoozer it can be to sit in your car waiting for it to charge, it’s pretty easy to see why. Only, Tesla decided to take things further by introducing a feature called Passenger Play, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says has gotta go.
The decision, which Reuters reported on Thursday, makes a lot of sense, and frankly, we’re kind of surprised Passenger Play survived this long. The problem with the feature is, of course, its potential to distract the driver from driving (something that an unfortunate number of Tesla drivers seem to struggle with as it is), which would increase the risk of a crash.
Tesla has told NHTSA that it will issue a new software update that will lock the feature, making games only accessible while the vehicle is parked. The update is estimated to affect around 565,000 Teslas.
This isn’t Tesla’s first trip around the dance floor with NHTSA. The government agency has launched several investigations into the company for various reasons, including issues with the company’s unfortunately named advanced driver assistance suite Autopilot.
We’d typically ask a company for comment on a story like this, but Tesla dissolved its PR department.
Meet Roadshow’s long-term 2021 Tesla Model Y
1/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow Please welcome Roadshow’s new 2021 Tesla Model Y. 2/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow Yes, that’s right, we leased it. We’ll be living with this for 24 months to tell you our impressions. 3/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow What options did we get? Well, Deep Blue Metallic paint, as you see. We stuck with the 19-inch wheels, though, but we did add a tow hitch. 4/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow We also opted for the white interior. Why? 5/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow We want to see how well it holds up to Dog Mode. 6/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow There’s a lot of storage up front in the frunk. 7/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow And a remarkably spacious trunk, too. 8/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow Overall the interior detailing is much nicer than we saw on the early Model 3s. 9/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow But we’d sure like some more tactile controls. Reaching for the touchscreen all the time is a bit tiring. 10/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow That’s just one of the many things we’re looking forward to learning more about as we get comfortable with our new Model Y. 11/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 12/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 13/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 14/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 15/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 16/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 17/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 18/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 19/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 20/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 21/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 22/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 23/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow 24/24 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow
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Keyword: NHTSA shuts down Tesla's Passenger Play feature after investigation