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US Opens Investigation Into Tesla Over Touch Screens

Tesla, the most popular electric car brand, is now under investigation regarding its touch screens inside the vehicles.

The U.S. has opened this formal investigation because people are claiming that these center touch screens allow drivers to play video games while the car is in motion. This possibility could be incredibly dangerous.

Tesla Touch Screen Feature Dangerous

Although this feature is not intended for drivers, it could still make for quite the distraction. The feature is called “Passenger Play” and it could be the reason for future hazards. This feature is relatively new but has already gotten some complaints. As of now, there are no formal documents that claim this was the cause of any kind of crash or injuries.

“To date, the agency has received one owner complaint describing the gameplay functionality and has confirmed that this capability has been available since December 2020 in Tesla’s Passenger Play’-equipped vehicles. Before this time, enabling gameplay was only possible when the vehicle was in park,” a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokesperson said, according to NPR.

All the different models of Tesla, including the S, X, Y, and 3, will be investigated. Investigators will work to determine if this feature is truly distracting. The news outlet shared that this investigation will look at 580,000 electric cars and SUVs that are models ranging from 2017 to 2022.

The investigation has the potential to lead to a company recall. So, who was it that filed this complaint?

It was Vince Patton from Portland, Oregon. He realized he could play video games while driving and decided to test it out. He was able to play “Sky Force Reloaded,” Solitaire, and could even surf the web while the car was in motion.

“Somebody’s going to get killed. It’s absolutely insane,” he said.

As of now, the “Autopilot” feature and the “Full Self-Driving” software are also being investigated on Teslas. Tesla, however, has stated that both of these features should not be used to completely drive a vehicle. Rather, the driver must be ready to intervene at any time. This feature has reportedly resulted in a couple of crashes so far.

Used and New Car Prices

Meanwhile, for those just trying to get their hands on a decent used or new car, things aren’t looking good.

According to Business Insider, inflation has had a huge toll on the car industry. The cost of used cars and trucks has soared 31% over this last year. Also, new vehicles increased by 11% this year too. Dealerships are struggling to restore supply with growing demand.

The used car prices will decrease first in the first quarter. Then, the news cars will peak during the second quarter.

As for now, people are stuck paying more for used cars than what they’re actually worth.