Tesla to replace ‘Pole Position’ with another racing game, says Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has assured the Tesla community that the company will be rolling out another racing game to its vehicles soon, following the removal of Pole Position from TeslAtari’s lineup of titles. Musk posted the announcement on Sunday, following Tesla’s update on its store closures and the newest adjustments to its vehicles’ pricing.

Reports from the Tesla community after recent software updates indicated that the beloved racing game, which was fondly renamed Mars Madness by Tesla, was no longer present on their vehicles. Musk explained the game’s removal in a Twitter post. “Couldn’t resolve all the rights issues. Will add another racing game soon,” he said.

Elon Musk mentioned the inclusion of the iconic racing game as part of Tesla’s “gamification” of its user experience last year. Prior to Pole Position‘s rollout, the company started with other titles such as Missile Command, Lunar Lander, Asteroids, and Centipede when it began releasing Software Version 9.  The racing game, with its Tesla-specific mods, was among the most fun among the company’s lineup of titles, as the game could be controlled through a car’s actual steering wheel.

TeslAtari is arguably one of the most Elon Musk-esque Easter Eggs currently available, especially since games and the CEO go a long way back. Way before making his fortune for his work at Zip2, X.com/PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX, Musk was a nerdy kid that simply loves computers. So enamored was Musk with games that he created his own title called Blastar when he was just 12. The 12-year-old Musk would make around $500 for his creation, seemingly foreshadowing his future as one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs.

Musk’s mention of another, upcoming racing game is quite exciting. Beyond Pole Position, there are other classics, fun games that the electric car maker can introduce to its fleet of vehicles, including Sega’s Outrun, Konami’s WEC Le Mans, and even older titles such as Night Driver. This new racing game will hopefully join other titles that Musk has responded to on Twitter, including the AI-apocalypse-themed Blazing Chrome, a shoot-em-up game that will likely make waiting inside a vehicle even more fun.

Tesla is looking to push the gamification of its fleet. In the company’s jobs online alone, positions such as Gaming Software Engineers are present, highlighting Tesla’s deeper gamification in the coming months.