Tesla kills-off gaming on the move feature

Tesla will suspend its Passenger Play function on all its vehicles in the wake of the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) launching a safety probe over concerns of driver distraction.

Last week, the NHTSA announced that it had opened a formal investigation over Passenger Play that is currently available on 580,000 Tesla vehicles in the US alone.

According to the US safety body, the Passenger Play could distract the driver and increase the risk of crashes.

Worse still, there were credible reports that many owners and drivers of Model 3, Model S, Model X and Model Y were actually illicitly playing the games themselves raising huge implications over safety.

Following the launch of the inquiry Tesla has reportedly informed the NHTSA that an upcoming software update will lock the Passenger Play and prevent it from being used once the vehicle is on the move.

Tesla has not yet released any official statement to confirm the incoming update will remove Passenger Play.

Originally, it's thought as its Autopilot semi-autonomous cruise control advanced it was hoped that gaming on the move would be lawful. It's not clear why the function was unlocked early, especially since driver distraction (from the owner's phone) was blamed for a fatal accident involving a Tesla in Autopilot back in 2018.

It's not known if the NHTSA will now suspend its investigation into Passenger Play but work from the US safety body continues on another safety Tesla lapse concerning the Autopilot that's been linked with potentially causing collisions with parked emergency vehicles attending unrelated collisions.

That safety investigation it said to affect an incredible 765,000 Teslas and could prompt a recall if fault it found with the hardware or software governing the semi-autonomous driver aid.