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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 10 hours ago by KayLeadfoot@fedia.io to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

147 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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[–] cmhe@lemmy.world 21 points 7 hours ago (4 children)

I am a bit disappointed to not see the Tesla crash into a real wall. I feel a bit click baited here.

Also, they prepared the polystyrene wall to break this cartoonishly, but still played on being surprised.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 4 points 2 hours ago

I’m a bit disappointed they painted identical to the actual road. Probably a lot of humans will get fooled by that one. We should send a challenge back: how looney toons can you get? Will something more cartoonish fool it? Will a different landscape fool it? How about drawing an oncoming train?

[–] tiramichu@lemm.ee 62 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

The purpose of the video is to test a hypothesis, not to total a car.

Mark Rober is a youtuber sure, and some of the stuff he does is to feed the algorithm. But he's also an engineer, and that involves experimentation and a good dose of science.

Engineers won't set up tests that intentionally destroy their expensive test equipment if they can conduct an equivalent test non-destructively.

[–] Barbarian@sh.itjust.works 34 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

Did anyone seriously expect it to be a real wall with Rober sitting in the driver's seat?

[–] embed_me@programming.dev 1 points 1 hour ago

I was expecting they'd rig it with a dummy sitting

[–] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 19 points 6 hours ago

Apparently, yes.

[–] SippyCup@feddit.nl 3 points 4 hours ago

Is such depressing cynicism fun for you?

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, do YTers not have the money to kill one Tesla?
That seemed like an expensive production, sadly one totaled car couldn't make it.

[–] nomy@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 hour ago

Should've let WhistlinDiesel "test" it.