this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025

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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 2 days ago by KayLeadfoot@fedia.io to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

341 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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[–] Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.org 78 points 1 day ago

TIL Mark Rober is a domestic terrorist

[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 39 points 1 day ago

To be fair, the roadrunner it was following somehow successfully ran into the painting.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 141 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (12 children)

Clearly we don't need lidar!

Direct video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQJL3htsDyQ

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 107 points 2 days ago (18 children)

"But humans can do it with their eyes!" - says the man not selling a human brain to go with the optical sensors

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[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 113 points 2 days ago (45 children)

I saw the video pop up in my Youtube recommended, but didn't bother watching because I just assumed that any cars tested would be using LIDAR and thus would ignore the fake road just fine. I had no idea Tesla a) was still using basic cameras for this and b) actually had sophisticated enough "self driving" capabilities that this could be tested on them safely.

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 64 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They tested a LiDAR rigged car, and it stopped just like you predicted. As of 2021, Tesla uses only cameras for FSD, and not even radar (which my stupid fine Toyota truck has).

They tested the idea safely by building the wall out of styrofoam, or at least that's what it looks like when it blows apart :)

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[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 25 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Mark Rober is about to be listed as FBI public enemy #1 :(

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[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 78 points 2 days ago (1 children)

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[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 32 points 1 day ago

To any artists in Austin,TX: you have your work cut out for you. Godspeed.

[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 12 points 1 day ago

A fitting metaphor for Musky and their involvement with the US government.

[–] Corno@lemm.ee 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

"Wile E Coyote was here"

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[–] blackluster117@sh.itjust.works 55 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Still think LIDAR is inferior to computer vision, Elon?

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