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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 18 points 4 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.

[-] Jeffool@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours 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 3 points 2 hours ago

I have another idea: echolocation and laser measurement.

[-] Jeffool@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour 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 2 points 7 minutes ago* (last edited 5 minutes 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.

[-] SirFasy@lemmy.world 32 points 7 hours ago

Turns out having radar is rather important..

[-] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 18 points 6 hours 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

[-] Yoga@lemmy.ca 13 points 7 hours 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.

[-] Naevermix@lemmy.world 20 points 9 hours ago

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

[-] magnus919@lemmy.brandyapple.com 69 points 12 hours 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 7 points 4 hours 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.

[-] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 19 points 10 hours ago

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

[-] JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works 6 points 10 hours ago

Yeah but the radar/lidar may allow them to drive into things quicker.

[-] faberyayo@lemm.ee 18 points 9 hours ago

Some cartoon shit

[-] kamen@lemmy.world 16 points 10 hours ago
[-] lunarul@lemmy.world 27 points 11 hours ago

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

[-] bier@feddit.nl 16 points 7 hours 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 7 hours 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 4 points 3 hours 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?

[-] EaterOfLentils@lemmy.world 45 points 12 hours 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 6 points 9 hours 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 7 points 7 hours 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 2 points 3 hours ago

Wow

(Basedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbased)

This post brought to you by American car centrism

[-] elephantium@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

Not sure what "American car centrism" has to do with Chinese traffic regulations tbh

[-] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 3 points 24 minutes ago* (last edited 24 minutes ago)

I think their regs, while seemingly very basic rules of the road, are based because I live in the US and we have bike lanes here that just whole ass turn into turn lanes with almost no warning. I wish we could get basic decency for everyone on the road, too.

[-] kameecoding@lemmy.world 79 points 14 hours 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 31 points 13 hours ago

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

[-] aesthelete@lemmy.world 11 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours 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).

[-] Mic_Check_One_Two@reddthat.com 19 points 13 hours 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.”

[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 13 points 10 hours 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 12 points 10 hours ago

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

[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 9 points 10 hours ago

Good.

I'm not rooting for America to fail, but I'm 100% rooting for Elon to fail.

[-] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 16 points 12 hours ago

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
[-] liverbe@lemmy.world 5 points 7 hours ago

And a "Yikes!" sign 🤣

[-] mennorobert@lemmy.world 29 points 13 hours ago

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

[-] fubarx@lemmy.world 32 points 15 hours ago

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!

[-] Glent@lemmy.ca 14 points 13 hours ago

These same laws will be grandfathered in for ai. This way your health insurance companies computer can murder you by denying care and nobody can be held civilly or criminally liable.

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[-] thatradomguy@lemmy.world 57 points 16 hours ago
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this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025
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