US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took the time on Monday to remind everyone that human drivers must remain “in control and fully engaged in the driving task at all times” after a video of a man driving a Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Cybertruck while wearing and operating Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) newly-released VR gadget Vision Pro went viral.
Vision Pro, which was released to consumers just last week, is the tech giant’s $3,499 entry into the augmented reality market. It has already shown more promise, in terms of user adoption, than any other similar gadget before it, including the $449 Quest from Meta.
Videos of people wearing and using the goggles in the real world have been going viral the past week, and the particular video of the Cybertruck guy wearing it has been viewed more than 24 million times. Commenters were also quick to point out that worse, the man was actually driving without advanced driver assistance as the $60,990 Tesla truck doesn’t come with the Autopilot feature.
Apple has not commented on the matter but it does specifically warn that Vision Pro should not be used while driving a car.
“Apple Vision Pro has built-in safety features to help prevent collisions and falls, but it’s also important to use the device in a safe manner. For example, don’t run while wearing Apple Vision Pro, use it while operating a moving vehicle, or use it while intoxicated or otherwise impaired,” according to the Vision Pro’s user guide.
While it’s understandable that Buttigieg is concerned, Jathan Sadowski offers a more sober (and likelier) explanation, though, saying that these guys, those who want people to see that they have both the Cybertruck and the Vision Pro, are LARP-ing the future as “the goggles don’t work this fast or well in motion.”
True enough, there was one guy who posted a video claiming that he got arrested driving his Tesla on Autopilot while wearing the Apple headset only to later say that it was a “skit,” i.e. staged for the ‘gram.
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