'It is just stupid': Tech experts voice concern over drivers using mixed reality headsets
CTV
Viral videos of people who appear to be driving Tesla vehicles while wearing mixed reality headsets have sparked safety concerns within the U.S. government and among Canadian tech experts.
Viral videos of people who appear to be driving Tesla vehicles while wearing mixed reality headsets have sparked safety concerns within the U.S. government and among Canadian tech experts.
"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," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote Monday in a post on X with a video that attracted more than 25 million views.
The video shows an unidentified man who appears to be wearing the new US$3,500 Vision Pro -- Apple's first mixed reality headset, which blends virtual reality and augmented reality -- while driving a Tesla electric pickup Cybertruck. He is shown gesturing as if pressing buttons in the air, with both hands off the steering wheel.
The Apple Vision Pro headset was released in the U.S. last week. An Apple employee told CTVNews.ca it was unclear when it would be released in Canada.
Dante Lentini, a computer science student at New York University, also posted a viral video on X that had over 26 million views as of Friday. He later told the tech and science website Gizmodo that the stunt was for a "skit" he was making with friends, adding that he only drove wearing the headset while the car was on autopilot for 30 to 40 seconds.
Apple did not comment directly on the videos when asked about them by CTVNews.ca, but said people should “never use the device while operating a moving vehicle, bicycle, heavy machinery, or in any other situations requiring attention to safety.”
Tesla did not respond to CTVNews.ca's request for a comment.
