this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025
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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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[–] Ghyste@sh.itjust.works 274 points 22 hours ago (20 children)

I seem to recall that fElon prevented the self driving team from utilizing LIDAR for any part of the system, instead demanding that everything run off of optical input. Does anyone else remember the same?

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 170 points 22 hours ago (4 children)

Was just thinking this

A single LiDAR sensor prevents this kind of issue

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[–] Arbiter@lemmy.world 60 points 22 hours ago (5 children)

Iirc they were using a combination of lidar and radar, but Elmo wanted to cut costs.

[–] cyd@lemmy.world 32 points 19 hours ago

Funny thing is, the price of lidar is dropping like a stone; they are projected to be sub-$200 per unit soon. The technical consensus seems to be settling in on 2 or 3 lidars per car plus optical sensors, and Chinese EV brands are starting to provide self driving in baseline models, with lidars as part of the standard package.

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[–] NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 56 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (4 children)

What's cool is that Teslas used to have radar sensors, at least, but Elon removed them from production to save money. Even if you have a car from back then, the software no longer uses them and they'll just physically unplug them the next time you have the car serviced, as it's just a drain on the battery at this point 🙃

[–] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 29 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

meanwhile our subaru has lidar for adaptive cruise control and emergency braking

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[–] SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works 23 points 18 hours ago

Yes, I recall at the time experts saying it was a terrible mistake and Elon saying Machine learning will bridge the gap.

The real reason was to increase margins.

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[–] RobotZap10000@feddit.nl 142 points 23 hours ago (3 children)
[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 29 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (19 children)

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The actual wall is way more convincing though.

[–] Gonzako@lemmy.world 33 points 21 hours ago (5 children)

still, this should be something the car ought to take into account. What if there's a glass in the way?

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 25 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I'm so glad I wasn't the only person who immediately thought "This is some Wile E. Coyote shit."

[–] tja@sh.itjust.works 39 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I mean, it is also referenced in the article and even in the summary from OP.

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[–] jewbacca117@lemmy.world 105 points 23 hours ago (8 children)

I read something a while back from a guy while wearing a T-shirt with a stop sign on it, a couple robotaxies stopped in front of him. It got me thinking you could cause some chaos walking around with a speed limit 65 shirt.

[–] heavydust@sh.itjust.works 56 points 23 hours ago (5 children)

Teslas did this in the past. There was also the issue of thinking that the moon was a red light or something.

[–] SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world 38 points 22 hours ago

Or when a truck is moving traffic lights

https://youtu.be/QhA2CH6Z-v4?t=99

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[–] audaxdreik@pawb.social 47 points 21 hours ago

I think one of my favorite examples was using simple salt to trap them within the confines of white lines that they didn't think they could cross over. I really appreciate the imagery of using salt circles to entrap the robotic demons ...

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[–] Viri4thus@feddit.org 95 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (3 children)

Who was the idiot that removed LiDar to cut costs?

/s

[–] bobslaede@feddit.dk 45 points 20 hours ago (15 children)

Elon removed the radar. Tesla cars never had lidar. What an idiot Musk.

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[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 94 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (33 children)

This is a very good test, and the car should have past. That said though, I hate the click bait format where they show a stupidly obvious cartoonish wall, when the real wall is way more convincing.

The Video:

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That sort of clickbait is 100% sure to get a "do not recommend channel" from me, I'm so sick of it. And it's sad when the video has such a good point.

The Clickbait

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I can see it's kind of funny, but it's misleading.

[–] MurrayL@lemmy.world 90 points 20 hours ago (8 children)

YouTubers - especially large channels like this - constantly A/B test with different thumbnails and stick with whatever one drives the most traffic (no pun intended) to the video.

You might not like it, but it’s unfortunately the reality of operating a content creation business on an algorithm-driven platform.

There are plenty of channels I follow that make fantastic videos, but sometimes you have to tolerate the shitty thumbnails because that’s just the reality of the system they’re operating within.

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[–] Maestro@fedia.io 47 points 20 hours ago (22 children)

Have you heard of DeArrow? https://dearrow.ajay.app/

It's a browser extension that replaces clickbait thumbnails with good community sourced ones

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[–] Glitterbomb@lemmy.world 32 points 17 hours ago (24 children)

You realize Mark Robers target audience is like 8 years old, right? He also references looney tunes and wile e coyote a couple dozen times, including in this thumbnail you're losing your mind over. The thumbnail fits the theme very well if you ask me.

This video isn't a rigorous scientific test. This is a children's video designed to get them interested in the scientific method. Get over yourself.

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[–] kameecoding@lemmy.world 82 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

This is why it's fucking stupid Tesla removed Lidar sensors and relies on cameras only.

But also who would want a tesla, fuck em

[–] AreaKode@lemmy.world 33 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I was horrified when I learned that the autopilot relies entirely on cameras. Nope, nope, nope.

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[–] bitchkat@lemmy.world 28 points 14 hours ago

They never had lidarr. They used to have radar and uss but they decided "vision" was good enough. This conveniently occurred when they had supply chain issues during covid.

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[–] TommySoda@lemmy.world 76 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

And that's what you get for cheaping out on tech and going with cameras over lidar. Not only that, but Tesla removed all the radar technology that literally every car uses for collision detection about a year ago.

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[–] magnus919@lemmy.brandyapple.com 74 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

I remember Elon foolishly saying his cars don’t need radar or lidar. Even software-disabling radar in cars that already had the hardware.

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[–] thatradomguy@lemmy.world 58 points 18 hours ago (1 children)
[–] amon@lemmy.world 28 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

I wish all MAGAs a very DEI

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[–] EaterOfLentils@lemmy.world 48 points 14 hours ago (5 children)

Apparently they keep getting tickets in China because they didn't bother to adjust the settings to accommodate Chinese roads and traffic laws. Result is Tesla is getting utterly crushed by BYD in their one major market that doesn't care about Elon's antics.

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[–] SirFasy@lemmy.world 34 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Turns out having radar is rather important..

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[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 33 points 16 hours ago (4 children)

There's a very simple solution to autonomous driving vehicles plowing into walls, cars, or people:

Congress will pass a law that makes NOBODY liable -- as long as a human wasn't involved in the decision making process during the incident.

This will be backed by car makers, software providers, and insurance companies, who will lobby hard for it. After all, no SINGLE person or company made the decision to swerve into oncoming traffic. Surely they can't be held liable. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Once that happens, Level 4 driving will come standard and likely be the default mode on most cars. Best of luck everyone else!

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[–] lunarul@lemmy.world 31 points 12 hours ago (4 children)

My vacuum would pass that test... why is a Tesla worse at this?

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[–] Itsamelemmy@lemmy.zip 30 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

Entire video is worth watching. He also snuck a chest mounted lidar into Disney and mapped some rides.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 29 points 19 hours ago
[–] mennorobert@lemmy.world 27 points 15 hours ago

There's a very simple solution to this. BUILD MORE TRAINS!

[–] The_Caretaker@lemm.ee 26 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Was there a coyote or a roadrunner anywhere nearby?

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[–] RambaZamba@feddit.org 23 points 5 hours ago

Things that happen when you rely exclusively on optical sensors, i.e. cameras. But that's just cheaper, more money for Nazi Elon.

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