Tesla, the US-based electric car company of Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, has introduced a new feature for Model S, Model X and Model 3 vehicles in recent years. This feature called ‘Passenger Play’; At first, Tesla started to allow owners to play games while the vehicle was parked, and as of December 2020, drivers were able to play while the vehicle was in motion.
As can be expected, this feature also raised some security concerns. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also launched an investigation into the feature recently for this reason. In this investigation, which covers more than 580,000 vehicles, NHTSA claimed that “Passenger Play” could increase the risk of accidents. Now, an important move has come from Tesla on the subject.
The feature is disabled
Tesla has decided to disable the ‘Passenger Play’ feature after NHTSA’s investigation. According to the statements made, the company will stop the use of this feature, which allows drivers to play games while the vehicle is in motion, with a new update through the infotainment system. Officials did not share information about when the update will happen; However, he stated that Tesla vehicles will now have to be parked in order to play the game.
It was also stated in the news that the investigation would continue despite Tesla’s decision. Although the giant company is a pioneer in autonomous driving technologies, many experts; He thinks that this technology should not be trusted yet, and playing games while the vehicle is in motion can distract the driver and increase the risk of accidents. NHTSA’s previous reports indicate that 9 percent of accidents are caused by distraction and support these concerns.
It is not difficult to predict that autonomous driving technologies are developing rapidly and will be widely published in the future. But if we talk for now; It would not be wrong to underline that these systems, to which we entrust our lives, should not be trusted, and that distractions such as Tesla’s feature should not be dealt with while the vehicle is in motion, and that such situations can lead to terrible consequences.