Sega has announced that it has formed a partnership with Tesla to bring Sonic the Hedgehog to Tesla’s in-car gaming console. The original Genesis game will be playable in the Elon Musk-owned company’s existing and new models of electric vehicles.
According to today’s press release, Sonic the Hedgehog can be played with a handheld controller connected to a Tesla’s USB port. For safety reasons, drivers are not allowed to play the game while they are driving — only passengers can do so.
Despite most Teslas being designed to drive while on autopilot for prolonged periods of time, The New York Times reported last week that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will be investigating Tesla’s video game feature, as playing games while driving has proven to be dangerous. The combination of hands-free driving and drivers paying attention to their electronic devices, especially smartphones, has been linked to 12 deaths in Tesla cars operating on autopilot since 2016.
Sonic may have jumped from hanging from the car mirror in Rad Mobile to driving his own car in racing games Sonic R and Team Sonic Racing to now having his game installed in a Tesla, but he’s far from the first video game character to be selected for that. Cuphead hopped into Tesla’s gaming system in 2019, followed by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt a year later.
The partnership between Sega and Tesla to add Sonic the Hedgehog to Tesla’s gaming system caps off a whirlwind 30th anniversary for the Blue Blur. Sega recently showed off the trailers for both the Sonic movie sequel and Sonic Frontiers at The Game Awards to the excitement of fans.
