Mark Rober, the beloved YouTuber and former NASA engineer, is facing intense backlash over his latest video, Can You Fool a Self-Driving Car? The experiment, which pits Tesla’s Autopilot against a LiDAR-equipped vehicle in extreme obstacle tests, is being accused of misleading viewers. Critics argue that Rober never actually tested Tesla’s Full Self-Driving mode—only Autopilot, which isn’t designed for full autonomy.
Even more suspicious, some eagle-eyed viewers claim Rober may have deactivated Autopilot right before impact, making Tesla’s performance look even worse. As the controversy unfolds, fans are left questioning whether the experiment was a fair test or a deliberate hit piece.
Things get even murkier when financial motives come into play. According to online speculation, Rober failed to disclose an alleged business connection to a LiDAR company, potentially violating transparency guidelines. This timing is crucial—after Rober’s video went viral, Tesla stock dropped by 5%, while LiDAR company Luminar’s shares soared 27%.
With Elon Musk’s long-standing opposition to LiDAR technology and Tesla’s vision-based approach to autonomy, many are wondering—was this just a science experiment, or something more calculated?
