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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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[-] RambaZamba@feddit.org 48 points 2 weeks ago

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

[-] Inkstainthebat@pawb.social 5 points 2 weeks ago

Are we reeeeally sure optical sensors with fast image recognition software are cheaper than LiDAR?

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[-] SirFasy@lemmy.world 30 points 2 weeks ago

Turns out having radar is rather important..

[-] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 30 points 2 weeks 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

[-] Ghyste@sh.itjust.works 27 points 2 weeks ago

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 16 points 2 weeks ago

Was just thinking this

A single LiDAR sensor prevents this kind of issue

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[-] Arbiter@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

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

[-] cyd@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks 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 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

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 5 points 2 weeks ago

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

[-] fulg@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I didn’t realize EyeSight had different versions, on the Solterra it looks like it is indeed LIDAR.

My Crosstrek has the older dual camera setup for depth perception, it would not be fooled by a picture of a road on a wall… I’m surprised the Teslas are.

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[-] magnus919@lemmy.brandyapple.com 20 points 2 weeks ago

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

[-] gmtom@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago

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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[-] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 11 points 2 weeks ago

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

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[-] lunarul@lemmy.world 19 points 2 weeks ago

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

[-] bier@feddit.nl 16 points 2 weeks ago

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.

[-] Yoga@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 weeks ago

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

Lmao would it be illegal to put a stop sign on the back of your car?

[-] CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee 8 points 2 weeks ago

I was thinking the same thing. What would happen if you popped one out of the back of your car while driving in front of a self driving car on the freeway?

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[-] Yoga@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 weeks ago

Insurance fraud is going to bankrupt Tesla robotaxis faster than an incompetent CEO ever could.

There will be too many ways to defeat the cameras and not having LiDAR unlike the rest of the industry may prove to be found to be a failure of duty of care.

[-] Jeffool@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

This would be hilarious if it weren't for shitty cars causing deaths.

That said, I always wondered why we don't find a system like RFID that could penetrate concrete and asphalt, and plant passive receivers in roads? We re-pave roads so damn often in this country (the U.S.) it seems like we could've knocked it out in the past couple of decades, minus our most rural areas.

I know RFID itself isn't strong enough, but I imagine that would've been an easier problem than figuring our complete self driving. Not to mention making GPS a secondary system for U.S. road travel in most cases.

Maybe it's just a dumb shower thought?

[-] bufalo1973@lemm.ee 7 points 2 weeks ago

I have another idea: echolocation and laser measurement.

[-] Jeffool@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

I don't know the value of echolocation in this case, as I'm generally ignorant here, but it's straight wild to me that they went purely on visuals.

[-] dan@upvote.au 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Tesla used to also have radar (and maybe lidar?) but they removed it as a cost cutting measure. If you ever see older videos of a Tesla slowing down or stopping due to a potential collision a few cars ahead, that's from before they switched to only relying on cameras. The collision avoidance was significantly better back then.

[-] towerful@programming.dev 5 points 2 weeks ago

Echolocation is specifically audio based.
Lidar is a similar technique, but much more accurate and precise.
Project a grid of laser beam, read when the laser bounces back, you know the distance to that part of the grid.

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[-] RobotZap10000@feddit.nl 13 points 2 weeks ago
[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The actual wall is way more convincing though.

[-] Gonzako@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

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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[-] EaterOfLentils@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

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.

[-] accideath@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Huh, now I’m mildly interested in the differences in traffic laws in China vs US vs Europe that lead to Teslas getting more tickets in China than elsewhere.

[-] elephantium@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

I found this article. My takeaways were:

  1. No driving in bus lanes during certain times of day.
  2. No using the shoulder as a turn lane.
  3. No using a bike lane as a turn lane.
[-] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 4 points 2 weeks ago

Wow

(Basedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbased)

This post brought to you by American car centrism

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[-] Naevermix@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

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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[-] kameecoding@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

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 8 points 2 weeks ago

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

[-] aesthelete@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Leon said other sensors were unnecessary because human driving is all done through the sense of sight...proving that he has no idea how humans work either (despite purportedly being a human).

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[-] jewbacca117@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

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 6 points 2 weeks ago

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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[-] Viri4thus@feddit.org 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Who was the idiot that removed LiDar to cut costs?

/s

[-] bobslaede@feddit.dk 4 points 2 weeks ago

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

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[-] kamen@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago
[-] faberyayo@lemm.ee 6 points 2 weeks ago

Some cartoon shit

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

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 5 points 2 weeks ago

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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[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

I am very glad that Elon and Trump have overreached and now Tesla is suffering. I hope Starlink is the next domino to fall.

[-] Atmoro@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Yup plus the European Union is making their alternative to launch in a year or 2

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this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025
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