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The Sega classic Sonic The Hedgehog is about to be released on a brand new platform–the in-car entertainment system in Tesla vehicles. The news was tweeted out earlier this week by Elon Musk, and has since been confirmed to The Verge by a Sega representative.
As may be expected from anything involving self-described “meme lord” Elon Musk, the announcement was anything but straightforward. Rather than tweeting it out directly, Musk revived a November thread in which he had been sharing memes about Senator Bernie Sanders, who has earned Musk’s ire by supporting increased taxes on billionaires.
Under a tweet that included an image of Sanders edited to look like Sonic antagonist Dr. Robotnik, Musk has now replied with “Sonic, the Hedgehog, game coming to all Teslas!”
The news was confirmed by Sega PR when reached by The Verge, but neither Sega or Musk has specified when the game will release. Sega has confirmed that tthe game will be available on all Tesla models, however.
Last year, Tesla started hiring gaming talent to add to its Tesla Arcade team, and it seems like the company will continue to add more gaming content to its vehicles. The feature is still largely a gimmick, however, and has even raised safety concerns with some games like Sky Force Reloaded able to be played while the vehicle is in motion.
Despite 2021’s souped-up Tesla Model S Plaid boasting an on-board computer with almost the same processing power as a PS5, most of the games offered on Tesla Arcade don’t require so much processing power, and promised AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 haven’t yet appeared on the system. The current titles on offer include Polytopia, Cat Quest, Fallout Shelter, Stardew Valley, CupHead, BeachBuggy Racing 2, and a number of classic arcade games.
Sega has said that Sonic The Hedgehog can be played on Tesla Arcade with a USB-connected controller–though it’s worth mentioning that the 1991 game is also available on a number of different modern gaming platforms that don’t require the purchase of a $90,000 car.
