In 2018, Tesla first launched Teslatari, which is an emulator of Atari games running on Tesla vehicles. Popular titles from the '70s and '80s like "Pole Position" and "Asteroids" were introduced with Musk, saying that it was just the start of Tesla's interest in putting games inside its electric vehicles. A recent tweet from the Tesla CEO himself sparked speculations that more multiplayer and Augmented Reality (AR) games could soon be added to Tesla vehicles.
On Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked his followers if it is possible to have good multiplayer titles on Tesla vehicles. He tweeted, "Anyone think they can get a good multiplayer Minecraft working on Teslas? Or maybe create a game that interacts virtually with reality like Pokémon Go while driving safely? Like a complex version of Pac-man or Mario Kart?"
It sounds like the Tesla CEO would like to equip Tesla Arcade with more games, but not only standard games but advanced and even AR titles. Musk seems like challenging game developers to look for ways to allow the online multiplayer version of "Minecraft" to run on the onboard computer of the electric vehicles. Musk got some responses from several software engineers.
What makes Musk's tweet interesting is his idea of allowing Tesla vehicles to run a game that engages with reality like "Pokemon Go." Not only that, but he also wants the AR game to play while the Tesla vehicle is being driven "safely." Will this be an issue of distracted driving, even if it is on a self-driving electric vehicle?
It can be recalled that in Feb. 2020, at a hearing by the National Transportation Safety Board, it was found that an autopilot malfunction that cost the life of a Tesla driver in 2018 could have been prevented had he not been distracted using his smartphone. Having online multiplayer games on self-driving electric vehicles is fun and exciting if you are parking or killing your time.
It sounds fantastic in theory, but not in application. Elon Musk is known for his love of pop culture and video games. In the past, the Tesla CEO asked if Tesla owners would be interested in playing the popular game "The Witcher" while on self-driving mode. Since Tesla Arcade was introduced in 2019, it has a good selection of games. It includes the indie game, "Cuphead."
Lately, Musk has some kind of unpopular tweets beyond his games-related Tesla queries. However, Musk's companies, like Space X and Tesla, continue to do significant work to make this world a better place.
