Why is the US pressuring Tesla for its entertainment system?

What happens between Tesla and the US government? Carlo Terzano’s article

It’s no mystery that Tesla collects a lot of data once you get into its super-smart machines. Now, however, this data can be used to its advantage: the government agency NHTSA, which is an acronym for National Highway Safety Administrationwhich has been investigating the entertainment system installed on the 2017-2022 Tesla Model 3, S, X and Y models for more than a month.

What is the Tesla Entertainment System

The “Passenger Play” function that Tesla announced as an in-flight controller, accessible directly from the front of the passenger compartment, is now under the magnifying glass of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal authority responsible for road safety. It remains to be clarified whether the driver, due to the display of the screen placed on the dashboard, can be distracted by sounds and images of what is happening under his nose while passengers are playing video games. Right now, NHTSA wants to be sure of something else, namely whether there have been cases where the same driver has used the Tesla infotainment system.

Malandrino December update

At the origin of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s investigation, a vehicle firmware update was updated in December that would have unlocked the Tesla infotainment system even while the car was in motion. The purpose was obviously to entertain the passengers, but the position of the front projector will also allow the driver game on the godangerously endangering his personal safety and the safety of motorists and other pedestrians. Tesla with its disclaimer apparently warned of the dangers and subjected the use of the entertainment system to passengers only, but a tap on the touch screen was enough to start the video games. As soon as the NHTSA launched its investigation, Tesla released a new update that once again made it impossible to use video games on the go.

Will the data tell you what’s going to happen?

That’s where all the data that Tesla has collected come in, which can be used as “black boxes” to shed light on whether there are such episodes. The FCA required Tesla to send it by March 4 information collected on “trips in which video game use occurred while devices indicated the vehicle was in motion” as well as information about game use at times. When “the vehicle sensors did not detect the presence of a passenger in the front passenger seat”. The agency also requested data on moments when “video game use occurred in conjunction with any driver intervention or other active safety measure.”

Tesla also flies in 2021

The story will not worry you too much Elon Musk, 1 of the group, which at the beginning of February will go to Berlin to accelerate the opening of the first Giga plant on European soil. Business, for Tesla, has not fared well at all, despite Covid and the lack of chips: net profit rose to $5.5 billion on revenue of 53.8 billion, a marked increase from last year when sales were 31.5 billion and profits at 721 million. The fourth quarter was also positive, ending well above analyst expectations. Deliveries jumped 87% to 936,000 vehicles. Analysts estimate that Tesla could deliver 1.5 million vehicles this year, in line with its goal of increasing deliveries by 50% annually over an extended period. A goal in which new factories in Germany and Texas play a crucial role, and for which Tesla has committed more than $6 billion.