An investigation has been launched in the US into more than half a million Tesla cars that are equipped with touchscreens.
It comes after a customer complained about being able to play games while driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States is investigating 580,000 Tesla Models 3, S, and X vehicles produced between 2017 and the present.
The investigation has yet to get a response from Tesla.
Passenger Play is the function in question, and it allows users to play games on their in-car touchscreen.
It does state that playing while driving is “just for passengers,” and it requests confirmation before allowing gameplay.
Passenger Play, on the other hand, “may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash,” according to the NHTSA.
The feature has been available since December 2020, according to the company. The game feature was previously only available when the vehicle was in Park mode.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated earlier this month that distracted drivers were responsible for 3,142 road deaths in 2019.
In 2013, the EPA issued guidelines recommending that in-vehicle technologies be built such that the driver cannot use them “to execute intrinsically distracting secondary tasks while driving.”
Tesla owner Vince Patton of Oregon discovered a video on YouTube last month demonstrating how Passenger Play may be used by drivers.
After testing it in a parking lot and discovering that he could play numerous games while driving, he filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, calling the function “recklessly negligent.”
Mercedes-Benz issued a recall earlier this month due to an issue caused by a computer setup error that allowed drivers to access the internet or watch television while driving.
