Being able to playing games in a Tesla has always been a cool party trick, but the selection was always limited and the games that were available weren’t especially advanced or complex.
Well, that no longer stands true because owners of the refreshed Model S and Model X now have access to the gaming platform Steam, which adds literally thousands of games, including advanced, graphics-heavy titles like Cyberpunk (which Tesla used in the announcement video).
Elon Musk had been saying for months that the manufacturer was working on integrating Steam into its vehicles. This summer the company announced that it was making progress with this integration and that it would be available soon, although no time frame for release was mentioned.
The manufacturer made it clear that only 2022 model year vehicles will be compatible with steam, as they got a hardware upgrade along with the refresh that gives them 16 GB of ram and improved processing power.
And in order to be able to store all those games (as well as dash cam recordings) locally, the manufacturer has also announced the availability of a 1TB SSD that costs $350 and will start shipping as of February, 2023. It can be placed in a corner of the glove box, so it doesn’t take up too much space, yet it adds virtual storage for dozens of games.
The manufacturer notes that this particular SSD that it will offer has been optimized for gaming and is guaranteed to have a long life, as well as withstand the potentially extreme temperature fluctuations that can occur in a car interior. Tesla describes the SSD as being able to
Store everything. From Tesla Arcade games to Dashcam footage, our 1 TB Solid State Drive (SSD) allows you to save all your vehicle data in one place. This automotive-grade external SSD is designed for durability withstanding extreme cabin temperatures, vehicle shocks and vibrations. With an extended lifespan compared to similar storage devices and read/write speeds optimized for gaming, the Solid State Drive supports Steam gaming.
