The Apple Vision Pro, Cupertino’s new $3,500 Augmented Reality (AR) headset, hit the streets last week and boy-oh-boy are people already abusing it. Specifically, there seems to be quite the overlap in the center of the Venn diagram featuring Apple Visio Pro owners and two-plus ton Tesla (among other cars) drivers who don’t take driving safety seriously.
In case that wasn’t clear enough, some drivers—including Tesla owners posting to social media—are strapping on Apple’s new headset and getting behind the wheel of their cars.
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Apple Vision Pro should not be worn while driving a car.
However, it seems that some Tesla owners are wearing the augmented reality headset while driving and are getting caught in the act.
By the evening of the Apple Vision Pro’s launch, 21-year-old Dante Lentini posted a video to X showing him behind the wheel of a Model Y Performance wearing the headset. The video also showed the car parked with a lit-up police car next to it.
It’s unclear if Lentini was pulled over for wearing the headset or if he faced any consequences for driving with the Vision Pro on. There have been claims circulating online that Lentini was arrested, however, no corroborating statements from the police nor Lentini confirming this. Lentini hasn’t explicitly stated he was arrested, though he has replied to posts insinuating such with comments such as “That’s me! My bad.”
That isn’t the only video circulating the internet. Another Model S driver was seen doing the same thing, as was a driver in an Audi, one in a Mercedes, and another in a Subaru. And, of course, a Cybertruck.
And before anyone asks, the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck, which currently costs upwards of $100,000 to purchase, does not yet have Autopilot or Full Self-Driving enabled. Another video of this driver can be seen with the truck parked, clearly throwing exaggerated hand gestures into the air—we’re willing to bet this one was staged.
It’s pretty unclear if the Apple Vision Pro was functional when these videos were taken. Some users report that the Vision Pro will not engage its AR functionality if the headset senses motion or the scene around it begins to move.
YouTuber Casey Neistat demonstrated exactly this on the New York City Subway. While walking on the streets, the Vision Pro would dismiss his menus and when the train was in motion, the Apple Vision Pro reported that its tracking had failed, just after sending a YouTube video down the car as Casey was watching.
Now, Vision Pro does have something called Travel Mode which alters the way that some motion sensors are utilized for tracking purposes. It’s possible that these drivers may have engaged Travel Model before driving. Or, the drivers may be full of hot air in the name of clicks.
Either way, it’s not only stupid to drive with an AR headset today, but Apple explicitly warns against it:
Always remain aware of your environment and body posture during use.
[…]
Never use Apple Vision Pro while operating a moving vehicle, bicycle, heavy machinery, or in any other situations requiring attention to safety. Using the device in low light conditions may increase the risk of collision with objects in your environment.
Apple should really consider changing the name of its Focus Mode from “Driving” to something else while Vision Pro is equipped to dissuade people from doing this.
Could AR headsets be useful while driving in the future? Sure. I could think of a myriad of cool possibilities for track days—think a Forza-esque training to see the turn-in, apex, and exit of a driving line with your gauge cluster on top. But the tech just isn’t there yet.
Plus, not everyone on the road has consented to being a beta tester to Apple’s new $3,500 menace maker. So let’s just not get behind the wheel with it on.
