Since the Apple Vision Pro launched on Friday, some who shelled out $3,500 to be among the first with the pricey AR/VR headset have been sharing videos of themselves doing something truly, well, stupid.
These early adopters users have been uploading videos on social media where they are driving while wearing the Apple Vision Pro.
A warning for Apple Vision Pro drivers
The Apple Vision Pro-wearing drivers in most of these viral clips appear to be operating Tesla vehicles, which prompted public concern from at least one government official that users are utilizing Tesla Autopilot — and not paying attention to the road.
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"Reminder—ALL advanced driver assistance systems available today require the human driver to be in control and fully engaged in the driving task at all times," posted U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in a post on X.
Buttigieg's post included a video of a driver wearing Apple Vision Pro, seemingly interacting with the headset while operating a Tesla Cybertruck. The drivers hands should be on the steering wheel, but instead, they're interacting with the headset.
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Another Apple Vision Pro driver, X user @lentinidante, went viral with for driving a Tesla while wearing an Apple Vision Pro, making the same interactive hand gestures. The video ends with police officers supposedly pulling him over.
However, the driver confirmed to Gizmodo that the whole video was a skit, although he admits to actually driving the vehicle for "30-40 seconds" while wearing the headset for the video.
“Driving while wearing a VR headset is reckless and disregards the safety of everyone on the road,” a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) spokesperson told Fortune in a statement.
However, as Fortune points out in its own report, AR/VR headsets and smart glasses fall into a grey area when it comes to actual legal ramifications. Many states have laws against texting while driving and similar distracted-driving regulation. However, some states specifically limit this ban to cell phones or television. Some even have carve outs allowing for dashboard monitors.
In fact, when lawmakers looked into passing Google Glass-specific laws after the smart glasses launched, Google lobbied against such bills. A 2013 case involving a driver who was ticketed for wearing Google Glass shows why these specific laws were necessary. Charges against the Google Glass-wearing driver were thrown out when it could not be proven that the driver's Google Glass was on or that the driver was watching a video.
Apple specifically tells users not to to use the Apple Vision Pro while "operating a moving vehicle."
