Elon Musk wants to put video games in every Tesla, asks developers to apply

Joe
Skipper / Reuters

• 
  Soldier 76 main and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is looking to hire
  game developers at Tesla to create games.
• The games are intended for Tesla’s cars. “We want to
  make super fun games that integrate the center touch screen,
  phone and car,” Musk
  said Wednesday on Twitter.
• This isn’t the first time Musk has put out a public
  call for gaming in Tesla’s cars. He teased “Easter Eggs” back
  in May, and announced some of those as classic Atari games this
  week.

Game developers: Elon Musk is looking to hire you for an unlikely
project.

“If you’re into video game development, consider applying to
Tesla,” Musk tweeted
on Wednesday. “We want to make super fun games that integrate
the center touch screen, phone & car [in real life].”

You may be wondering, like I was, what in the world it means to
create games for a car. That remains unclear.

“An interactive game between Tesla owners near each other would
be incredible.” one Twitter user said to Musk, who responded
with, “Something like that, but more of an adults in cars
anime vibe.” 

The absurdly large
touchscreen inside of a Tesla vehicle.
Bryan Logan/Business Insider

Presumably the game would only be playable when the car isn’t in
motion. Presumably! Or maybe it’s just for passengers to
play? 

It’s hard to imagine a situation where a game running on the
car’s main touchscreen wouldn’t be tremendously distracting from
operating the vehicle. Musk isn’t saying how it’ll work for now
(I asked). 

In the meantime, Tesla
is adding classic Atari games to the touchscreen in an
upcoming software update — and how one of them is controlled
offers a glimpse into how these upcoming Tesla-made games might
work.

Musk
said that Atari classics “Missile Command,” “Tempest,” and
“Pole Position” should appear in the upcoming update, and in the
case of racing game “Pole Position” you can drive in the game
using your steering wheel “while stationary.” 

It sounds like, at least for now, no one will be turning their
Tesla into a giant video game console/death machine.