Tesla Model S and Model X could be PS5 on wheels thanks to AMD

Tesla Model S and Model X could be PS5 on wheels thanks to AMD

The Tesla Model S and Model X can already play video games, but both are about to receive significant hardware enhancements.

AMD made that clear during its Computex 2021 keynote. The latest generation of Tesla infotainment systems will feature one of the chipmaker's Ryzen processors and an AMD RDNA 2 GPU.

The GPU is interesting in that it is not meant to run the infotainment system itself; AMD CEO Lisa Su confirmed that it will only be activated when the user is trying to play AAA games in the car.

Elon Musk has previously revealed that the new Tesla Model S has up to 10 teraflops of processing power, which is comparable to the 10.28 teraflops you get with the PS5. In other words, this is a pretty powerful machine, and it has the chip pedigree to make Elon's bizarre vision a reality.

The chip will be installed in the Tesla Model S and Model X, but we haven't seen it actually playing AAA games. We do know that "Cyberpunk 2077" is one of the games that will be on the new system. Given the problems this game had running on older consoles when it was first released, seeing how well it runs on the Tesla will give us an idea of the capabilities of the car's computer.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for The Witcher 3. That game is several years old at this point and runs on the Nintendo Switch. It would be more surprising if Tesla could not get this late game to work particularly well.

Tesla is also hiring new talent for game development, especially game developers who know how to handle Linux. This suggests that Tesla will be getting serious about gaming in the near future.

Of course, there is the question of whether Tesla needs to turn its cars into roaming game PCs. You can't play while driving, and there aren't many situations where playing games in the car would be more appealing than playing them on a console or PC.

These systems are considerably cheaper than the $75,000 it would cost to purchase the cheapest Model S. Even if you were to buy a PS5 from a duff dealer and end up paying much more than the $500 retail price.

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