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Steam with Linux now available in Tesla cars (Beta)

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Here come a bunch more gamers using Linux, as Tesla have rolled out a software update that enables Steam in Beta.

Announced on Twitter with a video to show it off, you get access to many thousands of games. This is largely thanks to all the Linux work Valve has been doing through the Steam client, graphics drivers, Proton and more. Accessing Steam has been enabled on Model S & X (2022+) and requires "Premium Connectivity". From the changelog, it mentions specifically people can play anything that is Steam Deck Verified, although it's not clear if they're blocking games that aren't from working. So, it's basically a really expensive Steam Deck with wheels now.

Valve developer Pierre-Loup Griffais also put up a Twitter post on it, showing off a nice clear picture too:


Image Credit - Pierre-Loup Griffais on Twitter.

Previously, Tesla got investigated for the Passenger Play feature as the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration thought it would cause a distraction and was a safety issue. To counter it, Tesla disabled it while the vehicle is moving.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Beta, Misc, Steam
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36 comments
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jordicoma Dec 14, 2022
- Sorry boss, I cannot go to work because I have no battery left after playing all day.
No, the car has to be a car, not a gaming pc. I prefer having less technology at the car and having more battery life.
whizse Dec 14, 2022
View PC info
  • Supporter
Turn the windscreen into a monitor. Turn the steering wheel into an input device. Not a bad rig for a driving sim!
jordicoma Dec 14, 2022
Turn the windscreen into a monitor. Turn the steering wheel into an input device. Not a bad rig for a driving sim!
And with realistic crashes!
Xpander Dec 14, 2022
Turn the windscreen into a monitor. Turn the steering wheel into an input device. Not a bad rig for a driving sim!
And with realistic crashes!

No option to Reset back to the road
scaine Dec 14, 2022
View PC info
  • Contributing Editor
  • Mega Supporter
a really expensive Steam Deck with wheels
Haha! That's about the only description that would actually tempt me to buy a Tesla. And it's still a hard nope.
Mal Dec 14, 2022
  • Supporter
Just another portable gaming device.
Seegras Dec 14, 2022
Probably too late to convince anyone to a Tesla, as people are now looking for alternatives, where the company boss hasn't gone over to the Dark Side #DarthMusk
McCarthee Dec 14, 2022
Probably too late to convince anyone to a Tesla, as people are now looking for alternatives, where the company boss hasn't gone over to the Dark Side #DarthMusk

Name a single car manufacturer CEO who genuinely cares about woke politics.
Klaas Dec 14, 2022
The steam logo on the dashboard is interesting.

Does anyone know if everything is controlled by a single device or is there some kind of redundancy? Running arbitrary code on a device that is potentially able to kill someone seems like a weird choice.
mphuZ Dec 14, 2022
I wonder what DevKit looks like for developers?
Purple Library Guy Dec 14, 2022
a really expensive Steam Deck with wheels
Haha! That's about the only description that would actually tempt me to buy a Tesla. And it's still a hard nope.
You more of a Leaf man?
Purple Library Guy Dec 14, 2022
Probably too late to convince anyone to a Tesla, as people are now looking for alternatives, where the company boss hasn't gone over to the Dark Side #DarthMusk

Name a single car manufacturer CEO who genuinely cares about woke politics.
Well, apparently Elon Musk cares a good deal. Not in the sense of backing them, but he certainly cares.
But I wouldn't be surprised if the CEO of, say, Volkswagen cared about that in a low key kind of way. In Germany and some other neighbouring countries, a lot of what we call "woke" is what they call "common sense"--not controversial except to the AfD.

Personally, I still like the cars. I don't own one--I have a Leaf because it's cheaper and I find hatchbacks more practical than the Tesla sedans. But I respect the technology even as I wonder where up his ass Musk's head is at.

I still don't get how a guy dedicated to technology and to some degree science, whose big deal is saving us all from climate change, found himself joining up with a bunch of people who think climate change is a conspiracy by millions of scientists all working together to pull the wool over our eyes.


Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 14 December 2022 at 5:37 pm UTC
Renzatic Gear Dec 14, 2022
Turn the windscreen into a monitor. Turn the steering wheel into an input device. Not a bad rig for a driving sim!
And with realistic crashes!

"It was like I was in the game, man! I could actually feel my face bouncing off the dashboard!"
Klaas Dec 14, 2022
big deal is saving us all from climate change,
It is? I thought his big deal was making more money.
Purple Library Guy Dec 14, 2022
big deal is saving us all from climate change,
It is? I thought his big deal was making more money.
Well, yeah, but I meant his, I dunno, public persona big deal. And I mean, Tesla's success wasn't guaranteed--there were quite a few years early on where you'd definitely say there were much better ways to make money.
buono Dec 14, 2022
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  • Supporter Plus
I thought Teslas run on electric not steam.
slaapliedje Dec 14, 2022
Turn the windscreen into a monitor. Turn the steering wheel into an input device. Not a bad rig for a driving sim!
And with realistic crashes!

No option to Reset back to the road
Just reload your save game; it'll be fine.
slaapliedje Dec 14, 2022
Probably too late to convince anyone to a Tesla, as people are now looking for alternatives, where the company boss hasn't gone over to the Dark Side #DarthMusk

Name a single car manufacturer CEO who genuinely cares about woke politics.
Well, apparently Elon Musk cares a good deal. Not in the sense of backing them, but he certainly cares.
But I wouldn't be surprised if the CEO of, say, Volkswagen cared about that in a low key kind of way. In Germany and some other neighbouring countries, a lot of what we call "woke" is what they call "common sense"--not controversial except to the AfD.

Personally, I still like the cars. I don't own one--I have a Leaf because it's cheaper and I find hatchbacks more practical than the Tesla sedans. But I respect the technology even as I wonder where up his ass Musk's head is at.

I still don't get how a guy dedicated to technology and to some degree science, whose big deal is saving us all from climate change, found himself joining up with a bunch of people who think climate change is a conspiracy by millions of scientists all working together to pull the wool over our eyes.
+ Click to view long quote
Guess it depends on who you believe, as I haven't actually looked more into this myself. But there are videos out there showing that he really had nothing to do with inventing the Tesla cars (which I agree with, as the actual engineers are not named Musk) and that he more or less finagled his way into being the CEO of Tesla, and managed to get tagged in as the one who really brought it into being. More or less he inserted himself into that role.

So even if you respect the technology, the reason to respect Musk is to make it a successful enough company that many have them at least in mind.

Granted Volkswagen was founded by Nazi Germany, which you can respect their engineering, but their methods were definitely scary. Guess you can kind of go that route with Musk (mind you I am not calling him a Nazi, in fact I kind of respect that he wants to try to balance out the force, so to speak, with Twitter.

Personally I'm just enjoying the show; you see I kind of like watching chaos unfold, and watching 'The Left' lose their minds because Twitter is no longer going to be banning / lowering visibility for 'The Right' just makes me giggle.

He's not a dumb man by any stretch of the definition. Has he said anything about denying climate change though? I think his latest stuff is that Fauci should be prosecuted.

This isn't to say I'm a fan of him, but kind of a fan of him creating chaos within Twitter, if that makes sense.
ShabbyX Dec 15, 2022
The steam logo on the dashboard is interesting.

Does anyone know if everything is controlled by a single device or is there some kind of redundancy? Running arbitrary code on a device that is potentially able to kill someone seems like a weird choice.

I think it's pretty standard to have the car-controlling computer be separate from the entertainment computer. FWIW, all cars have this double-computer system now, there's nothing specific about tesla.
Nezchan Dec 15, 2022
I don't like Musk one little bit. His flaws are legion, his ego is incredible, and his primary skills are in self-promotion and not being tied down by the truth in doing so. He's famously over-promised in every single business he's been involved in, including Tesla. And his Twitter antics, before and after buying it, have revealed a lot about him.

But that said, and this is important, he doesn't design or build the cars. He pays people to do that. What he is and is not like has little, if anything, to do with this decision or the quality of the vehicles (which, if my housemate's Model 3 is anything to go by, is actually very good (full self-driving is pretty half-baked though)).

As to the games, a LOT of the use case for those is when you're charging the vehicle. Refuelling an EV isn't a five minute process like with a gas-powered car, you might be sitting there 15-20 minutes easily, depending on a number of things. So it's great to have something to occupy yourself with in the meantime. They used to allow games while driving, saying it's "for passenger use only", but disabled it a year ago following bad press about it. Dumb oversight not to disable it to start with, which I chalk up to engineers often assuming everyone else is like them, and since they wouldn't do that....
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