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 110 points 1 month ago (21 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 72 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Was just thinking this

A single LiDAR sensor prevents this kind of issue

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[–] NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 22 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month 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 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

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

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[–] Arbiter@lemmy.world 22 points 1 month ago (4 children)

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

[–] cyd@lemmy.world 22 points 1 month 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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[–] SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 month 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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[–] kameecoding@lemmy.world 87 points 1 month 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 38 points 1 month 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 30 points 1 month 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.

[–] Mic_Check_One_Two@reddthat.com 20 points 1 month ago

They also removed radar, which is what allowed them to make all of those “it saw something three vehicles ahead and braked to avoid a pileup that hadn’t even started yet” videos. Removing radar was the single most impactful change Tesla made in regards to FSD, and it’s all because Musk basically decided “people drive fine with just their eyes, so cars should too.”

[–] magnus919@lemmy.brandyapple.com 83 points 1 month ago (2 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.

[–] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 29 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I mean his right, his cars don't need radar or lidar. They just drive into things.

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[–] gmtom@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not even just his cars, he thinks the MILITARY, doesn't need radar and can just use cameras to spot and track stealth fighters.

He's a fucking lunatic.

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[–] RambaZamba@feddit.org 50 points 1 month ago (2 children)

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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[–] thatradomguy@lemmy.world 48 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] amon@lemmy.world 27 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I wish all MAGAs a very DEI

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[–] Viri4thus@feddit.org 47 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

Who was the idiot that removed LiDar to cut costs?

/s

[–] bobslaede@feddit.dk 24 points 1 month ago (15 children)

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

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[–] RobotZap10000@feddit.nl 46 points 1 month ago (5 children)
[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (22 children)

The actual wall is way more convincing though.

[–] Gonzako@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month 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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[–] SirFasy@lemmy.world 45 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Turns out having radar is rather important..

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 33 points 1 month ago

It's dirt cheap, too. If this was a cost-cutting measure, it was a thoroughly idiotic one. Which feels like the mark... of a certain someone I can think of

[–] lunarul@lemmy.world 40 points 1 month ago (2 children)

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

[–] bier@feddit.nl 25 points 1 month ago (4 children)

In short because Elon (wrongly) believes you only need cameras, he made the claim people also drive with just 2 eyes.

The thing is, we recognize a truck with stickers of a stopsign, while AI vision gets confused.

Waymo (Googles self driving side hussle) was build on lidar and other sensors and has been using robot taxis for many years now in geofenced specific areas.

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[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 33 points 1 month 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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[–] jewbacca117@lemmy.world 32 points 1 month 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 18 points 1 month 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.

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[–] mennorobert@lemmy.world 28 points 1 month ago

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

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 27 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (54 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:

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

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

[–] MurrayL@lemmy.world 30 points 1 month 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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[–] Glitterbomb@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago (23 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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[–] Naevermix@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Make Elon test ride the first Tesla robotaxi and there's a chance the funniest thing of all time will happen.

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[–] faberyayo@lemm.ee 22 points 1 month ago

Some cartoon shit

[–] kamen@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago
[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

New stuff to add to the car kit bag for the 21st century

  1. poster board to block usonic weapons
  2. black paint, white paint, roller, brush to paint tunnels on walls
  3. orange cones to pen in self driving cars
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[–] jewbies@lemmynsfw.com 17 points 1 month ago

That's some Wiley Coyote shit if I ever saw it.

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