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Musk recently announced that certain Tesla car models will be able to run several popular video games, some of which will be able to be played using a car’s steering wheel and pedals.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk predicted during a speech on a panel at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) that modern videogames will probably evolve to become indistinguishable from reality in the future – unless humanity perishes from the Earth.
“If you assume any greater improvement in video games at all, then one of two things are gonna happen: Civilisation will end or games will be so realistic you can’t tell the difference between them and reality. I postulate!” Musk said.
Musk then went even further, suggesting that people might actually be “avatars” in someone else’s video game. Delving further into his matrix-like speculation on the topic, he recalled a joke that if life is a videogame, then one could say that although the “graphics are great, the plot is terrible and spawn time is really long”.
While the idea of games being indistinguishable from reality might seem terrifying to some, Musk noted that the influence of the videogame industry on people, especially on children, could actually be quite positive. The entrepreneur recalled that it was videogames that made him interested in programming and technology in the first place.
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AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
The interior of a Tesla Model X 75D semi-autonomous electric vehicle
Speaking on the panel, Musk revealed the latest additions to the list of videogames that Tesla car users can play by using an embedded screen. Namely, Tesla is currently cooperating with Bethesda Studios to adapt the critically acclaimed Fallout Shelter simulator for this purpose. Additionally, Tesla owners will be able to play the sequel to the game Beach Buggy Racing by using the car’s steering wheel and pedals to control their in-game avatar.
