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!

  • Halosheep@lemm.ee
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    39 minutes ago

    Very surprised Mark isn’t… Super supportive of musk and Tesla.

    He owns a Tesla and is rather wealthy at this point. Not to mention that he’s Mormon. I’d expect him to be very conservative and all in on the grift.

    • KayLeadfoot@fedia.ioOP
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      32 minutes ago

      What a world we’re living in!

      Observing a technical deficiency in a robotics platform requires political considerations. Even when a car drives into a fucking wall at 40MPH on camera, people are asking about the camera man’s political party affiliation and not what’s wrong with the car.

      Wild!

    • rumba@lemmy.zip
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      28 minutes ago

      I’d expect him to be very conservative

      We still don’t know for sure. That video will likely become one of, if not his top-grossing videos. The topic and timeliness are absolute fire.

      I give him some credit, though. It’s a dicey time to throw Musk under the self-driving bus while showing that alternatives don’t have the same problem.

  • teuto@lemmy.teuto.icu
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    10 hours ago

    According to Ol’ Elon the robo-taxi service has been a couple months away since 2017 or so. I can’t imagine it’s much closer now than then.

  • happydoors@lemm.ee
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    21 hours ago

    I love that one of the largest YouTubers is the one that did this. Surely, somebody near our federal government will throw a hissy fit if he hears about this but Mark’s audience is ginormous

  • fubarx@lemmy.world
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    1 day 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!

  • rumba@lemmy.zip
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    24 hours ago

    Mark Rober is about to be listed as FBI public enemy #1 :(