Federal regulators wish to know whether or not or not Tesla’s in-car online game system is distracting drivers. In an announcement despatched to Gizmodo, the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed it’s launching a proper investigation into the corporate’s “Passenger Play” function which some drivers have reportedly used to entry video games even whereas their car is in movement.

The NHTSA mentioned the Preliminary Evaluation, first discovered by the Associated Press, will apply to all Tesla fashions created between 2017 and 2022, including as much as round 580,000 complete autos. The investigation will consider the “driver distraction potential” of Passenger Play and consider eventualities the place a driver may probably work together with the function.

The company mentioned it had already obtained one formal criticism associated to the function which they are saying has been accessible to drivers since December 2020. Teslas may play some video games previous to that, however these had been restricted to whereas the car was in park.

Tesla didn’t instantly reply to Gizmodo’s request for remark.

Though “Passenger Play,” because the title suggests, isn’t supposed for individuals behind the wheel, movies have popped up on Youtube exhibiting drivers simply interacting with the system even when the car is in movement. According to a latest report within the New York Times, Tesla shipped an over-the-air replace over the summer season that added the video games Solitaire, Sky Force Reloaded, and The Battle of Polytopia: Moonrise, all of which seem like playable whereas in movement. Drivers are proven a warning when these video games launch, however as of now there’s nothing stopping them from ignoring that and taking part in the video games anyhow.

Tesla’s resolution to push ahead with in-car video games and different leisure like video streaming comes regardless of long-standing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines recommending machine makers design techniques to allow them to’t be utilized by drivers to carry out “inherently distracting secondary tasks while driving.”

The NHTSA’s probe comes simply two weeks after the company advised Gizmodo it was conscious of the function and discussing it with Tesla. At the time, an NHTSA spokesperson mentioned distraction-affected crashes are a prime concern, including that “The Vehicle Safety Act prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles with design defects posing unreasonable risks to safety.”

Tesla’s funding in leisure techniques is intertwined with the corporate’s said ambition of making a car that may at some point drive itself and provides again time that may in any other case be spent caught in site visitors. Musk expanded on this level earlier this 12 months, claiming autonomous car riders will at some point “watch movies, play games, use the internet,” and do no matter else individuals do once they aren’t alleged to be targeted on stopping a rushing block of aluminum from crashing right into a median strip.

But that stage of care-free distraction solely works in Level 4 or above driverless techniques, one thing Tesla itself has needed to admit its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving techniques are presently incapable of attaining. This level wasn’t misplaced on the NHTSA, which warned drivers to stay vigilant even in autos that use superior driver help applied sciences

“NHTSA reminds the public that no commercially available motor vehicles today can drive themselves,” the company mentioned. “Every available vehicle requires the human driver to be in control at all times, and all State laws hold the human driver responsible for the operation of their vehicles. Certain advanced driving assistance features can promote safety by helping drivers avoid crashes and mitigate the severity of crashes that occur, but as with all technologies and equipment on motor vehicles, drivers must use them correctly and responsibly.”