Tesla Model S Infotainment Center Demo w/ NVIDIA Tegra 3 at CES 2012

NVIDIA was at the Consumer Electronics Show and while we were disappointed that they didn’t tell us anything new about their upcoming graphics processor (Kepler) the company did show off a bunch of Tegra 3 processor solutions. One of the main demos that was shown off was the 17″ capacitive touchscreen infotainment and control center in the upcoming Tesla Model S. The Tesla Model S is uses not one, but two NVIDIA Tegra 3 processors. One is used to power the 17″ infotainment center and the other is used to power the dash display. NVIDIA hopes to break into the auto market this year.

This was our first look at Tegra 3 in a car and while at first the 17″ display looked a little big and out of place to us, it did function very nicely when put to use.

The display was sharp and crisp with easy to navigate menus. The menus scrolled smoothly and the response of the system was more than acceptable.

We shot a video with a Telsa sales representative and he went over the key functions of the card with us. As you can see from the video the car and software is still in the early stages of production and far from final.