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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[–] ladicius@lemmy.world 26 points 18 hours ago

The real test starts at 11 minutes and shows frightening problems of the Nazi clown cars.

[–] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 28 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

Mark Rober. Why did it have to be Mark Rober.

[–] waywardninja@sh.itjust.works 30 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Why not? Seems fitting an ex NASA engineer show Elon, the man currently trying to dismantle NASA, just what kind of intelligent people exist in that agency.

[–] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 18 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Yeah, but I just can't stand his presentation style.

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[–] jonne@infosec.pub 10 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

I don't know anything about him, what's wrong with him exactly?

[–] lepinkainen@lemmy.world 8 points 13 hours ago

He shouts all the time. My theory is that the shouty style works for younger US audiences.

For a non-American it’s grating AF.

[–] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 19 points 17 hours ago (5 children)

There's something about his presentation style I just can't stand. Just the epitome of the "hey what's up guys" approach.

[–] Chozo@fedia.io 20 points 17 hours ago

I think that's largely because he wants to make his channel as kid-friendly as possible. If you watch some of his real early videos, he has a much calmer, more lecture-like demeanor without all the goofy edits and other modern YouTube tropes.

His other big business venture is a subscription box for kids, which I think it aimed for around 8-13 year olds, so I imagine he's adopted his current personality to try to appeal to that audience.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 14 points 16 hours ago

It's for kids, dude

[–] MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net 12 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

I love some of the stuff he does (the hot wheels race is absolute gold), but I agree. He's only leaned further into the cringe since launching crunch labs.

[–] Dhs92@programming.dev 26 points 17 hours ago

To be fair, he seems to be targeting kids with his content now. Anything to get kids interested in STEM early is a win in my book.

[–] swizzlestick@lemmy.zip 9 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

It's very modern, cheesy & spoon-feedy. Lots of staging. Overly friendly. Like it is filmed with the approval and oversight of HR.

I know what you mean. He does some amazing things, but I tend to stick to the highlights rather than sit through whole videos. This one, the elephant toothpaste vid, and others like it can be watched as a 15 second clip if you just want to see the hook.

It clearly works for his target audience, so I can respect sticking to the formula.

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[–] guynamedzero@sh.itjust.works 22 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

Youtube mad scientist

Okay come on, Styropyro fits the bill way better for “mad scientist”

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 11 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Aw come on, I thought the lasers versus watermelons demo was a lot of fun, and if that isn't mad science, I don't know what is

[–] guynamedzero@sh.itjust.works 9 points 16 hours ago

Don't get me wrong, I love Mark, but his content is kind of, tailored to the masses, you know what I mean? Fun stuff you can do at home! A mad scientist might do something more insane, such as connect 100 car batteries together to rival the power of lightning...

[–] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 6 points 16 hours ago

Styropyro genuinely has a screw loose, explosions and fire also fits the bill. And he's Australian.

[–] swizzlestick@lemmy.zip 7 points 17 hours ago

NurdRage ticks the box for me. Also NileRed before he moved out of a garage lab. Still cool though.

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 12 points 16 hours ago

This is what happens when you don't lidar

[–] thespcicifcocean@lemmy.world 6 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

So to stop robotaxis, all we have to do is paint a fake road directly into a rock wall with a painted on tunnel.

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 15 points 16 hours ago (2 children)
[–] thespcicifcocean@lemmy.world 7 points 15 hours ago

If the roadrunner cartoons taught me anything, it's that no matter what happens, whether you've been blown to smithereens or fell off a cliff and subsequently flattened by a boulder, you'll be good as now in the next scene.

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