Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
The federal safety agency is examining other potential safety issues with Teslas. In August, it opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot system, which can accelerate and brake a car on its own, after cars using the feature crashed into parked fire trucks, police cars and other emergency vehicles at least 11 times. Those accidents resulted in one death and several serious injuries.
In addition, the safety agency is also reviewing more than two dozen other accidents involving Teslas operating on Autopilot. The agency has said eight of those crashes resulted in a total of 10 deaths since the first occurred in 2016.
While the video game feature is not directly linked to the Autopilot issues, the safety agency on Wednesday suggested it was worried that Tesla drivers could play games while using Autopilot in the mistaken belief that the car was driving itself and that they need not pay attention to the road.
The company instructs drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention to the road while using Autopilot. But it does little to monitor drivers, and there is mounting evidence that some drivers routinely ignore its advice and warnings.
Tesla has been adding video games to its cars for several years. Most can be played only when the car is in park. But this summer it remotely updated the software of its cars to make available three games that could be played on the large touch screens mounted in the center of Teslas. The games were solitaire; a jet fighter game, Sky Force Reloaded; and a conquest strategy game, the Battle of Polytopia: Moonrise.