Oliver Haslam on December 8, 2021, 10:00 pm

Tesla Drivers Can Now Play Video Games On The Screen Even When In Drive Mode

In a move that seems to be one destined for disaster, Tesla has now allowed people to play games on its cars’ big screens even when the car is in motion. Until now, the feature only worked while the car was parked for obvious safety reasons.

Notably, while a New York Times report from yesterday outed the change, it does appear that the change was made months ago — at least for some people.

An Ars Technica report points to a YouTube video from January that shows Solitaire being played while the car is in Autopilot mode, while other videos show other games working as well.

Tesla appears to be aware of what a bad idea this is, with Ars noting that the software release notes say games are only to be played by passengers.

When it comes to games, though, Tesla’s software now notes the possibility of titles running while the car is moving. “Use of Touch Arcade while the vehicle is in motion is only for passengers,” reads a warning that pops up before a game launches in the second video. Users must confirm that the player is a passenger. “Please check local laws prior to playing,” the warning says.

Having seen the mess people get themselves into using Autopilot while not paying attention, we’re not sure every driver can be trusted to heed Tesla’s warning here. Thankfully, some local laws and regulations do seem to be preventing people from playing and driving — but whether people follow those laws remains to be seen.