Tesla update puts Steam in their cars, so you can crash in games instead
It's even got keyboard and mouse support for some bizarre reason
We’re just a few weeks off living in the futuristic year of 2023, so it’s entirely unsurprising that the world’s (former) richest man just dropped the whole of Steam’s catalogue as a form of in-car entertainment. Elon Musk shared his company Tesla’s announcement, via his company Twitter, that not his company Steam was now supported in Tesla’s newest Model S and X vehicles. Do you remember when I-spy was the height of gaming in a car? Well, now you can pretty much play whatever game you like instead with the Tesla holiday update. You can use a controller, but it supports mouse and keyboard wirelessly for that authentic roadside PC experience.
“You can play Cyberpunk, Elden Ring and 1000s of other games in your *car* with an epic sound system!!” said the Man With The Blue Tick. I like to think he tweeted it from his Tesla. Although you can only have an RPG sesh in the most recently manufactured Model S and X cars for now, Musk did reply to a comment to confirm that a retrofit would be available for older models from the past two years. He neglected to say whether that would be free or paid, though.
As you can see in the trailer above, you can even drive – and presumably crash – while you’re sitting immobile inside your car now. Tesla removed the Passenger Play function from their vehicles at the end of 2021, so you shouldn't be able to game and drive. I think the advent of Steam with Tesla’s holiday update means you’ll actually be able to play Her Story while in your motor now, too. Creator Sam Barlow said back in October that Tesla had approached him to put Her Story in their cars with no payment other than exposure. Barlow called the offer “one of the sillier ideas I’ve heard”.
I checked back in with Barlow now that more games are playable in Tesla's vehicles. "A car dashboard does not seem like the ideal place to play any game," he told me, "but particularly my games that are designed to create a deep immersion and concentration in their player!" I can see where he's coming from. I don't own a Tesla though, so I don't have to worry about struggling to finish an Elden Ring run while I'm waiting for someone to come out of the shops.
If you own a Tesla then please do tell us whether you’ve given Steam gaming a go while aboard your vehicle. Just, y’know, park up first, okay?
