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Self-Driving Tesla Crashes into Wall Painted to Look Like a Road… Just Months Before Planned Robotaxi Launch (fuelarc.com)

submitted 1 day ago by KayLeadfoot@fedia.io to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

326 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Mark Rober just set up one of the most interesting self-driving tests of 2025, and he did it by imitating Looney Tunes. The former NASA engineer and current YouTube mad scientist recreated the classic gag where Wile E. Coyote paints a tunnel onto a wall to fool the Road Runner.

Only this time, the test subject wasn’t a cartoon bird… it was a self-driving Tesla Model Y.

The result? A full-speed, 40 MPH impact straight into the wall. Watch the video and tell us what you think!

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[–] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 20 points 1 day ago (6 children)

There's something about his presentation style I just can't stand. Just the epitome of the "hey what's up guys" approach.

[–] Retropunk64@lemm.ee -1 points 13 hours ago

The hell is the "hey what's up guys" approach? That not a thing.

[–] Chozo@fedia.io 23 points 1 day ago

I think that's largely because he wants to make his channel as kid-friendly as possible. If you watch some of his real early videos, he has a much calmer, more lecture-like demeanor without all the goofy edits and other modern YouTube tropes.

His other big business venture is a subscription box for kids, which I think it aimed for around 8-13 year olds, so I imagine he's adopted his current personality to try to appeal to that audience.

[–] magic_lobster_party@fedia.io 7 points 1 day ago

His target audience is teenagers, so that’s what you get. I think having a guy like him teach kids about LiDAR and stuff in an entertaining way is a win.

But yeah, as a 30 year old I agree he’s a bit too much.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago

It's for kids, dude

[–] MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I love some of the stuff he does (the hot wheels race is absolute gold), but I agree. He's only leaned further into the cringe since launching crunch labs.

[–] Dhs92@programming.dev 27 points 1 day ago

To be fair, he seems to be targeting kids with his content now. Anything to get kids interested in STEM early is a win in my book.

[–] swizzlestick@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's very modern, cheesy & spoon-feedy. Lots of staging. Overly friendly. Like it is filmed with the approval and oversight of HR.

I know what you mean. He does some amazing things, but I tend to stick to the highlights rather than sit through whole videos. This one, the elephant toothpaste vid, and others like it can be watched as a 15 second clip if you just want to see the hook.

It clearly works for his target audience, so I can respect sticking to the formula.

[–] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago

Yeah, clearly someone is watching, you can't deny he's successful.