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In a test reminiscent of a Road Runner cartoon, a Tesla Model Y on autopilot crashed full-speed into a wall painted with a road image. Fortunately, the wall was made of Styrofoam specifically for this test, preventing any injuries from the dramatic failure.
YouTuber Mark Rober conducted the experiment to highlight differences between camera-based and LiDAR-based autonomous driving systems. Tesla’s autopilot technology relies exclusively on cameras to identify obstacles in its path.
Initial testing showed promise for both systems. A Lexus RX prototype equipped with LiDAR successfully stopped for stationary and moving mannequins placed in its path. Tesla’s system performed similarly well under these ideal conditions.
The real differences emerged when environmental factors were introduced.
When fog and rain were added to the test environment, Tesla’s camera-based system failed to detect the mannequin, while the LiDAR-equipped vehicle continued to identify and stop for the obstacle. This highlights a critical limitation in camera-only systems during adverse weather conditions — something drivers in many regions regularly face.
The most striking test involved a large Styrofoam wall decorated with a realistic road image. The LiDAR-equipped Lexus detected the barrier and stopped safely. The Tesla, however, plowed through the foam barrier at 40 mph — unable to distinguish between a real road and the printed image.
The Drive’s Ronan Glon emphasized that these results confirm “autopilot doesn’t make a car autonomous by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a Level 2 system, meaning the driver needs to keep both eyes on the road and both hands on the steering wheel.”
This isn’t the first demonstration highlighting Tesla’s autopilot limitations compared to LiDAR technology. Similar comparisons have shown comparable results.
Here’s me driving the Tesla Model Y on the left. It, of course, doesn’t have LiDAR. On the right is the @luminartech enabled vehicle. $LAZR pic.twitter.com/FlQVlQcw8O
— Patrick Moorhead (@PatrickMoorhead) January 5, 2022
