Tesla launches Steam gaming, but Australia to miss out on holiday upgrade

Tesla has added Steam, a leading video gaming distribution service, to thousands of Tesla vehicles. This will allow Tesla owners access to thousands of games but it comes with a catch – it will not be available on any Australian-delivered EVs in the upcoming holiday update. 

Thousands of games will be available to the refreshed Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles which were officially launched in the US in June 2021. These have not been delivered to any right-hand drive customer markets such as Australia.

Tesla even put a tweet up showcasing Cyberpunk 2077, a popular game title, being played in a Model S Plaid on its official Twitter page in June last year.

Now nearly 18 months on, the feature will be available to thousands of customers, some of whom have been patiently waiting for this since the official images were seen teasing Cyberpunk on the landscape screen found in the refreshed Model S and Model X vehicles.

This forms part of the holiday update that Tesla owners worldwide receive around the Christmas period. Elon Musk also verified this update in a Tweet yesterday.

Last year, games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Tesla light show were rolled out to hundreds of thousands of Tesla EVs globally. All Australian-delivered Model 3 and Model Ys will have access to these games which can be played via a wired or wireless controller.

With Steam games now available to Model S and Model X drivers, it’s unlikely that Australian owners will be able to play these games anytime soon. Australian deliveries for the refreshed right-hand drive are still expected to be 12 months away.

Last month, Tesla debuted the Model S and Model X Plaid in China which was the first international market outside of North America.

Since then, left-hand drive models have been spotted in Europe with the first European deliveries happening this month. 

In Australia, we can hope to receive other games in the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles as part of the holiday update. Thousands of Steam games at this stage will be limited to Tesla’s most premium EVs which hundreds of owners are patiently waiting for across the country.

Tesla’s official YouTube channel also shared a teaser video of how these games can be played in the refreshed Tesla Model S and Model X: