Tesla’s decision to enable games to be played on the front center touchscreen prompted the US auto safety regulators to start a formal safety investigation into 580,000 Tesla vehicles delivered since 2017.

The preliminary assessment by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) covers various Tesla Model 3, S, X, and Y automobiles from 2017 to 2022. According to the commission, this feature, known as “Passenger Play,” “may distract the driver and raise the danger of a crash.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has said that it has “This feature has been accessible in Tesla ‘Passenger Play’-equipped automobiles since December 2020, according to Tesla. Previously, the gaming function was only available when the vehicle was in Park.” Tesla did not respond right away.

After a series of collisions involving the system and parked emergency vehicles, the government initiated a safety inquiry into 765,000 Tesla vehicles in August over its driver-assistance technology Autopilot.

A preliminary evaluation is the first stage before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decides whether to escalate a probe to an engineering analysis, which is required before the agency can demand a recall.

A Tesla Model 3 motorist in Oregon complained to the NHTSA in November about the game feature, saying: “Creating a harmful distraction for the driver is dangerously negligent.”

On Nov. 29, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz recalled 227 U.S. vehicles – 2021 model year S580, 2022 EQS450, EQS580, and S500 — because the vehicle infotainment systems “might allow activation of the television and internet display while driving, causing a distraction for the driver.”