YouTuber Reproduces Mark Rober's Fake Wall Experiment Utilizing FSD Instead of Autopilot with Unexpected Outcomes | Carscoops

      It appears that Tesla's more advanced semi-autonomous system surpasses Autopilot, and some Full Self-Driving systems are more effective than others.

      A Tesla owner recently recreated Mark Rober’s fake road wall experiment.

      In some instances, they achieved similar outcomes, while in others, they did not.

      The variations seem to stem from newer FSD versions.

      Earlier this week, Mark Rober ignited a significant online debate by testing autonomous driving technology. In a lengthy video titled "Can You Fool A Self Driving Car?", he compared lidar to optical systems like those used by Tesla. The outcome was an immediate wave of backlash, acclaim, and confusion—essentially, the internet went into a frenzy. Now, another individual has repeated the same test, and, as expected, the findings are both recognizable and somewhat altered.

      In summary, lidar typically has clearer and more precise visibility in specific scenarios compared to optical systems. This isn’t particularly surprising, as lidar is a high-definition radar system capable of detecting objects in total darkness.

      However, when Rober's video showcased Tesla's inability to identify a wall that resembled a real road, brand enthusiasts reacted strongly. It's worth noting that Rober’s test used Autopilot rather than Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

      That’s where Kyle Paul, a fellow Tesla owner, steps in. He opted to repeat the experiment under similar conditions but utilized FSD instead of Autopilot. He created a wall that mimicked a real road and drove his Model Y toward it multiple times.

      In each attempt, the Tesla failed to recognize the wall until it was just inches away. As Rober mentioned in an interview, it’s possible that the ultrasonic parking sensors detected the wall instead of the autonomous driving system.

      Paul then decided to change things up by using a Cybertruck for the same test. Interestingly, it passed the test successfully, stopping on its own each time it approached the wall. What distinguishes these two vehicles? Aside from the fact that FSD is more sophisticated than Autopilot, the Cybertruck was equipped with Tesla’s latest FSD hardware, HW4, while the 2022 Model Y was operating on HW3.

      The Missing Pieces

      Some commenters noted tests that Paul did not perform. For example, he didn’t evaluate FSD with a mannequin or in rainy conditions—two scenarios that could provide a more realistic understanding of the system's performance in everyday situations.

      Nonetheless, this should help to temper the discussions surrounding Rober’s video. There is evidently some validity to the critiques, and those who continue to question Tesla’s autonomous driving methods are not entirely mistaken.