Elon Musk is bringing video games to Tesla cars, prompting interest from big-name developers

Moving on from his endeavours with flamethrowers, Elon Musk has since expressed interest in working with developers to eventually bring original video game content to Tesla vehicles. This has prompted quite the response from prominent figures in the industry, including Jackbox Games, PUBG and Razer.

Tesla is launching Version 9.0 for vehicles within the next four weeks, bringing with it a selection of Atari classics to play. Musk himself mentioned Tempest, Missile Command and Pole Position, to which he wishes the latter would come with steering wheel integration provided the vehicle is stationary. The final selection should be revealed just ahead of V9.0’s release, however it is uncertain just how integrated with the vehicles Atari’s classics will be.

Some of best classic @Atari games coming as Easter eggs in Tesla V9.0 release in about 4 weeks. Thanks @Atari!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2018

Musk doesn’t want to stop here, however, prompting video game developers to consider applying to Tesla in order to “make super fun games that integrate the centre touch screen, phone & car IRL.” One user asked the founder if this was his way of bringing a Pokémon Go-like experience to Tesla, to which Musk replied “something like that, but more of an adults in cars anime vibe.” It’s not entirely clear what he meant by this, but it seems like a mature, yet very much fun approach to video games.

While Musk will be judging applicants based on “prior work” and “max playability & creativity,” many of the names coming out of the woodwork speak for themselves. Brendan ‘PlayerUnknown’ Greene was one of the first on the scene, suggesting ‘Top Trump’ style card games for those stuck in traffic. Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan didn’t reveal any specifics, but expressed interest in the two companies collaborating in the future with fans drawn to the appeal of Chroma lighting in Tesla cars. Similarly, Depression Quest developer Zoe Quinn jokingly responded to Musk’s job offer.

Would love to see what we can do at @Razer to work together on this.

— Min-Liang Tan (@minliangtan) August 2, 2018

Jackbox Games, creator of the You Don’t Know Jack party games followed up with a more direct offer, proposing “You Don’t Know Jack: Tesla.” This will likely use Tesla’s touchscreen as the main hub, while players, passengers in this case, traditionally use their mobile phones as controllers.

It’s uncertain whether Musk’s latest effort will bear any fruit but once the entrepreneur sets his sights on something, he is rarely deterred.

KitGuru Says: As Twitter user Jackson Ryan points out, it’s obviously only a matter of time before Bethesda gets a port of Skyrim on there, even if it’s just the Alexa variant. Personally, I’d love to see a Nintendo pairing with Mario Kart using Tesla’s steering wheel. What would you like to see Musk bring to Tesla?

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