Tesla's touchscreen car controls should be treated as a distracting electronic device, a German court ruled.
A driver was faced with a driving ban after being involved in an accident in the rain.
The Tesla automatically started the wipers, but manual speed control was done via the large central touchscreen, rather than via a lever on the steering wheel.
The driver was punished according to the same rules as using the phone while driving.
The Tesla Model 3 automatically adjusts the speed of the windshield wipers based on how much its sensors think the rain is heavy.
It can be turned on and off from the steering wheel, but the range adjustment must be done on the touchscreen.
In this case, the driver had to navigate the software menus and then choose from one of five settings, after touching an icon.
The incident happened last year. The latter ruling was handed down on March 27 this year, but only recently came to light after being picked up by a German-language legal blog.
Screen distraction
The local court in Karlsruhe said the driver swerved from his lane as he was distracted by the console, crashing into an embankment and some trees.
While it recognized that the Tesla configuration required "much more attention from the driver" than a traditional lever configuration, it placed the onus on the driver to keep their eyes on the road.
Tesla's integrated touchscreen was, the court ruled, an electronic device under the law designed to combat the use of cell phones, which also mentioned touchscreens.
Such rules say that the devices can be used while driving only if it is a brief glance and the driver must take into account the conditions of the road, traffic, visibility and weather.
After receiving a one-month ban and a € 200 (£ 180) fine, the driver filed a complaint with the higher regional court. Wiper control was, he argued, a safety-related function that he needed to access.
The superior court disagreed, supporting the first sentence. Whether or not the screen was a permanent part of the car was irrelevant, he decided - and it didn't matter why the driver was looking at a touchscreen while driving, it just did.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
