In one of his latest Tweets, Elon Musk says he’s looking for game developers to create video games for Tesla Cars. He talked about developing games which “integrate the centre touch screen, phone and car irl”.  While this obviously sounds great on paper, it most definitely is a farfetched idea that might have some serious bottlenecks when put in practice, but aren’t wacky ideas part of the Elon Musk brand?

A concerned Twitter user asked if the game had a similar structure to that of Pokemon Go, Musk replied that he’s looking for something similar “but more of an adults in car anime vibe”.

Atari Games Included with the Next Software Update

Musk has always been hinting in the past at integrating video with his cars, and has already promised to release three classic Atari games as part of a software update in version 9.0. The full list of titles hasn’t been given out, but there was an indication that Pole Position, Tempest and Missile Command would be all included. 

While these classic games are easy to port, Elon Musk wants to create original IP games for Tesla and has asked the developers to submit their work for consideration. Their projects will be evaluated on the basis of “max playability and creativity”.

Companies have Already begun Applying

Many video games companies have already began offering their work to Musk; one example would be the game developer of the popular Jackbox party quiz games, who said they are interested in converting their games to be playable in Tesla cars.

Sarcasm begins to pour in

Not everyone on the internet received Musk’s call to video games with excitement, many people began making sarcastic remarks; a notable one was Jackson Ryan tweeting that it wouldn’t be long before Bethesda offers Skyrim for Tesla models.

The Point of a Tesla Model

It stands to reason that no one would be using the Tesla models just to play Skyrim. Although it does make sense to use video games as an entertaining way to pass the time while you’re stuck in a traffic jam or waiting for someone to arrive.

Maybe we’re entering into a toxic era where automobile companies will compete with each other over who makes better video games, in a similar way that Sony and Microsoft do so.

The Precursor to this Story

One year ago, a fake YouTube video began to suggest that someone successfully modded a Porche 911 to play Doom II on its center-console screen, the game was apparently linked to the actual steering wheel. The video drew a lot of controversy and even sparked interest in a debate about its authenticity and whether it would risk breaking the official regulations on cars sold in the US.

It would be interesting to know what NHTSA has to say about video games being integrated with cars.