Wile E. Coyote returns: 2nd YouTuber tries fake wall trick with Tesla Autopilot with a different outcome
Earlier this month, a YouTuber named Mark Rober pitted Tesla Autopilot and a LiDAR-equipped Lexus against a painted wall à la Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The goal? Rober wanted to fool the self-driving features to see if the vehicles would identify the obstacle and stop in time. Spoiler: the Tesla failed the test. However, that didn’t stop another YouTuber from recreating the cartoony experiment with a Model Y and a Cybertruck.
Inspired by another faux wall Tesla experiment, YouTuber Kyle Paul pitted EVs with Autopilot against a fake, cartoony wall
In his first test, YouTuber Kyle Paul allows his Tesla Model Y to cruise toward the decorated wall with FSD 12.5.4.2. However, noticing that the EV was moving too quickly to stop itself, he pressed down on the brakes. The Model Y came to a stop from around 40 mph. But not without some persuasion from the driver. “It did not see the wall,” Paul said solemnly after the experiment.
Interestingly enough, the Model Y didn’t see the wall until nearly making contact. Only then did the touchscreen display show a potentially dangerous barrier. Paul set up to make the run again. This time he chose Autopilot and supervised full self-driving. “This time we’re going to let it drive for a bit before we get to the wall,” Paul explained.
Again, the Model Y required Paul’s foot on the brake to come to a halt shy of smashing through the wall. “Does not see the wall,” Paul said of the repeat Model Y test. However, the Model Y wasn’t the only electric vehicle that Paul wanted to use in the wall test.
At around seven minutes into the video, Paul attempts a run in a Tesla Cybertruck. He activates the Cybertruck’s FSD 13.2.8 facility, removes his feet from the pedals, and allows the truck to guide itself down the road. However, unlike the Rober experiment, the Cybertruck slows to a stop, identifying an obstacle running the width of the road ahead. Success.
Just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, Paul repeated the test. Again, the Cybertruck came to a stop shy of the painted wall. It should be said that, even with the Tesla HW4 and FSD 13.2.8, the Cybertruck’s tests were conducted in the evening as the lighting conditions changed. However, the test used the same wall, with a color palette closer to daylight. Still, the truck stopped without driver interference.
