Elon Musk shows off the Tesla Model S Plaid playing Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt Red's sci-fi game struggles on the PS4 and Xbox One, but it'll run on the refreshed electric sedan.
At the livestreamed delivery event for the new Tesla Model S Plaid, Elon Musk showed off the refreshed electric sedan playing CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 video game on the car's redesigned infotainment system. Due to the dark settings, it was difficult to see the person playing, but the camera zoomed in through the Model S' hatchback to show off the screen, which sure did seem to be running the game.
This comes after Musk followed up January's surprise Tesla Model S refresh reveal with a bold claim that it can run the high-profile roleplaying game. An image in Musk's tweet showed a dashboard display-screen featuring The Witcher 3, a 2015 game from the same developer, but Cyberpunk had just come out.
Cyberpunk honestly looks like it plays well on Tesla's system.
Console versions of Cyberpunk were beset with performance issues and bugs, even on the next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X, leading the game studio's co-founder to acknowledge the problems in an apology video. Honestly, in the Tesla livestream it seemed like the game runs better in the car than it even does on next-gen consoles.
It can play Cyberpunk
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2021
The Model S's center screen has 10 teraflops of processing power, which Game Awards host Geoff Keighley noted was comparable to the PS5 and considerably more than the 4 teraflops in the Xbox Series S (Microsoft's higher end Series X has 12 teraflops). Note that much of that power will be used by the car to drive the infotainment system. Tesla itself says the Model S' system has "PS5-level performance," and Musk says no car has had computer technology that's this state-of-the-art.
During the livestream, Musk says the Model S' system can run games at 60 frames per second, and he previously also said the Model S screen has "more storage now & easily upgradable."
How do you actually play a game that's too complex for a touchscreen? "Wireless controller compatibility allows gaming from any seat," says the slide shown in Keighley's tweet, which implies you can pair an Xbox or PlayStation controller with the car's infotainment system, though we don't know whether those brands are supported.
Neither Tesla nor Cyberpunk developer CD Projekt Red immediately responded to requests for comment.
