<p>An investigation has been launched in the US into more than half a million Tesla cars that are equipped with touchscreens.</p>

<p>It follows a complaint filed by a user who discovered he could play games while driving.</p>

<p>The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking into some 580,000 Tesla Models 3, S and X made from 2017 to the current day.</p>

<p>Tesla has not yet responded to the investigation.</p>

<p>The feature under scrutiny is called Passenger Play, and it allows users to play games on their in-car touchscreen.</p>

<p>It does warn that playing while in motion is &quot;only for passengers&quot; and asks for confirmation of this before allowing gameplay.</p>

<p>But the NHTSA noted that Passenger Play &quot;may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash&quot;.</p>

<p>It added that the feature had been available since December 2020. Previously the game feature was only enabled when the vehicle was in Park mode.</p>

<p>Earlier this month the NHTSA reported that 3,142 road deaths in 2019 were attributed to distracted drivers.</p>

<p>Guidelines published by the agency in 2013 recommend that in-vehicle devices be designed so that they cannot be used by the driver &quot;to perform inherently distracting secondary tasks while driving&quot;.</p>

<p>Last month, Tesla owner Vince Patton from Oregon spotted a video on YouTube which highlighted how Passenger Play could be used by drivers.</p>

<p>After testing it in a car park and finding he could indeed play several games while driving, he filed a complaint with the NHTSA, describing the feature as &quot;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59760366">recklessly negligent</a>&quot;.</p>

<p>Earlier this month, Mercedes-Benz issued a recall for an issue caused by a computer configuration error that allowed drivers to browse the internet or watch television while the cars were moving.</p>
