NHTSA Closes Investigation Against Tesla Regarding Touch Screen Gaming Features

Tesla agreed to stop playing video games on the vehicle screen while the car was moving. (photo: Twitter @tesla)

JAKARTA - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on Tuesday, May 30, that it will close the investigation into 580,000 Tesla vehicles over the automaker's decision to initially allow games to be played on the front center touchscreen.

After NHTSA opened an investigation into Tesla's "Passenger Play" feature in December 2021, Tesla agreed to stop playing video games on vehicle screens while the car is in motion. NHTSA said Tuesday it was not proposing a recall on the vehicle, but analysis of the data provided by Tesla "raises significant concerns about driver distraction while the feature is available."

NHTSA clarified that by closing the investigation without proposing a recall, they were not indicating "a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defects existed. Additionally, this does not rule out the possibility for the agency to take further action, if required."

Tesla, which has not yet commented on this matter, has informed NHTSA that no consumer complaints or accidents have been reported regarding the use of the Passenger Play in vehicles in its year of use.

NHTSA says that a month after Tesla voluntarily disabled Passenger Play capabilities with an online software update, the completion rate was 97%. The NHTSA investigation includes Tesla vehicles sold since 2017 that have these features.

The NHTSA stated that "drivers' apparent use of the Passenger Play feature while not in Park in about a third of trips with the feature demonstrates the positive importance of technology-based lockouts compared to administrative controls such as labels or disclaimer screens."

In 2014, the NHTSA issued guidelines to encourage car manufacturers "to take safety and driver distraction prevention into account in the design and adoption of in-vehicle entertainment devices."

NHTSA guidelines "recommend that in-vehicle devices be designed so that drivers cannot use them to perform secondary tasks that are distracting while driving."

NHTSA is also conducting an investigation into 830,000 Tesla vehicles equipped with the Autopilot driver assistance system and involving accidents with parked emergency vehicles.

NHTSA said Tuesday that in its Autopilot investigation it aims "to better understand human factors regarding Tesla interfaces and dynamic driving tasks."