The era of software-defined vehicles is upon us as automakers come up with new ways to try and get your attention. Specifically, some companies want to distract you from driving and force you to glance over at the massive screen on your dashboard.
Some companies go so far as to add multiple screens in their vehicles. A single center display usually sits upfront, while an optional second—or third, if you’re Mercedes-Benz—screen is angled toward the first-row passenger, allowing passengers to stream the latest movies and TV shows using the vehicle’s local Wifi hotspot.
Tesla is more… unique when it comes to displaying content. The pioneer of over-the-air updates is constantly adding new content to its home menu, such as the latest, er, improvement, promoting the new Disney movie Tron: Ares.
That “improvement” comes in the form of Light Cycles navigating the darkened augmented city streets in lieu of the generic, gray models typically used to indicate nearby traffic. The vibe is emphasized by red mood lighting and turn signals that have a different chime to match the theme of the movie.
Tesla is never one to shy away from gimmicks. Several references have been made to classic films, such as James Bond’s Lotus Esprit submersible that can replace the Tesla in your vehicle settings, Ludicrous Mode, which is a nod to Spaceballs, as is ‘Mad Max,’ a setting for the Full Self Driving semi-autonomous features.
But this Tron integration is different. It’s played up as direct advertising for the movie, sparking controversy from even the Tesla fan base. Compared to those other references mentioned, this is far from the playful nature of opening the Toybox and enabling the sound effect of a whoopee cushion for giggles.
This also coincides with Elon Musk’s recent feud with Disney CEO Bob Iger, whose company pulled advertising from Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) venture, in which Tesla responded by deleting Disney+ from its infotainment system. Light Cycles burrowing their way into the display suggest a change of tone (or at a minimum, lots of advertising dollars spent).
This collaboration of in-car advertising has raised controversy among owners, some of whom have argued that it goes too far. Unfortunately, just like Tesla’s CEO is no stranger to gumming up the works of society, this may be far from the last promotion.
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