Videos shared on social media this week depict an almost dystopian, futuristic scene: Teslas drivers in Autopilot mode while wearing Apple Vision Pro headsets, seemingly oblivious to the road ahead.
The videos prompted a warning from federal transportation officials.
But are people really driving around in Teslas on autopilot while wearing Apple’s futuristic new glasses? Or a little bit of everything? Part of a never-ending cycle of people doing stupid things for clicks, likes, views and influence?
The new glasses feature digital apps and their surroundings in one immersive space, and videos of people wearing them in strange situations have gone viral since their February 2 release.
Several of the in-car videos are staged, and many clearly appear to be filmed by someone other than the driver. The videos are not widely distributed. Still, they seemed quite unconcerned about Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s weight on social media.
“Reminder – ALL advanced driver assistance systems available today require a human driver to be in control and fully engaged in the driving task at all times,” Mr Buttigieg said in a post on X This included a video of a driver using the headset in a Tesla Cybertruck pickup.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also chimed in Tuesday. “Driving while wearing a VR headset is reckless and disregards the safety of everyone on the road,” the agency said in a statement.
Dante Lentini, 21, who sent A video of himself behind the wheel of a Tesla while wearing a Vision Pro headset“It was all just for content,” he said in an interview.
In the video, Mr. Lentini writes while wearing headphones as introspective piano music plays in the background.
“Think Different,” Mr. Lentini wrote in X, a clear nod to the famous Apple ad campaign from the late 1990s. His video has been viewed more than 24 million times. (One commenter wrote: “I hope you get arrested for this.”)
Later in the video, Mr. Lentini is seen in a parking lot, with police cars in the background with their lights on. The editing of the video shows that Mr. Lentini was pulled over for driving while wearing headphones.
But Mr. Lentini said in an interview that police were responding to something else in the area at the time and that he and someone else had flagged them down “at the right time, at the right moment.”
He also said that despite what it looks like in the video, no software was running on the headset and he only wore it for 30 seconds.
“It was just for the video,” he said.
Not only have videos and footage of people driving while wearing the Vision Pro headset been circulating on social media. eating in restaurants and working out in the gym.
Is this the future? A world where people can’t just disconnect from the digital world long enough to focus on everyday tasks like socializing or exercising?
YouTube and TikTok creator Eric Decker, known as Airrack, shared a post video Indulge in “an average day for an Apple Vision Pro owner,” pretending to be wearing headphones while lifting weights at the gym, getting a haircut, going through airport security, walking down the street, and even showering. (Vision Pro is not waterproof.)
“I really feel like most of these videos are skits,” Mr. Lentini said. “You can just tell.”
Still, eight or not, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday that distracted driving is no joke. According to the agency, in 2021, more than 3,500 people died in accidents caused by distracted driving in the United States, and more than 360,000 people were injured.
“There is no fully autonomous car on sale today,” the agency said.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Apple declined to comment on the videos, but cited Safety instructions on their website about how to use Vision Pro properly.
“Never use the device while operating a moving vehicle, bicycle, heavy machinery, or in any other situations that require attention to safety,” the company says.
Mr. Lentini said the Vision Pro headset has a driving mode feature designed for passengers that stops the use of many apps.
Apple introduced the Vision Pro as a “spatial computing” device that allows users to watch videos, send email and browse the web in immersive virtual reality. The headphones start at $3,499.