Tesla is off the hook for allowing gaming while driving

For a brief time, video games could be played on the center display while the vehicle was in motion — prompting concerns about distracted driving. But the NHTSA says the problem is now mostly fixed.

Tesla won’t have to issue a recall for its vehicles after the federal government closed an investigation into the company’s “Passenger Play” feature that allowed games to be played on the infotainment screen while the vehicle was in motion.

The investigation was first opened in December 2021 after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received customer complaints that said live games and internet web searching — which were supposedly restricted to passenger use only while the car was in motion — could be played by anyone in the vehicle at any time. Over half a million cars were included in the scope of the NHTSA’s investigation.

When The Verge tested out the feature in late 2021, we could play a few Tesla Arcade games while the car was moving. A warning popped up on the screen saying only passengers are allowed to play while the car’s moving along with a button asking to confirm that the player is a passenger. But nothing really stopped a driver from pressing the button and playing a game while driving.

Soon after the investigation was announced, Tesla updated its software to disable the feature. Less than a month later, Tesla reported that 97 percent of its vehicles had completed the over-the-air software update, the NHTSA said. But while the investigation is closed, NHTSA says it may still take action in the future if a safety-related defect is discovered.

In its response to the NHTSA, Tesla said that it only recorded a “small portion” of instances when the Passenger Play feature was active while the vehicle was in motion. Of those instances, “approximately a third” were shown to be playing video games without a person in the passenger seat — meaning the driver was potentially interacting with the feature.

Tesla is currently the focus of several safety investigations, including one examining several dozen crashes that occurred when a Tesla vehicle with Autopilot activated collided with a stationary emergency vehicle. The company also tops the federal government’s list of crashes and fatalities involving vehicles equipped with advanced driver-assist systems.