> Mark Rober YouTube of a Tesla plowing into a road-runner style fake tunnel

I understand the argument for augmenting your self-driving systems with LIDAR. What I don't really understand is what videos like this tell us. The comparison case for a "road-runner style fake tunnel" isn't LIDAR, it's humans, right? And while I'm sure there are cases where a human driver would spot the fake tunnel and stop in time, that is not at all a reasonable assumption. The question isn't "can a Tesla save your life when someone booby traps a road?", it's "is a Tesla any worse than you at spotting booby trapped roads?", and moreover, "how does a Tesla perform on the 99.999999% of roads that aren't booby trapped?"

Tesla‘s insistence on not using Lidar while other companies deem it necessary for save auto-pilot creates the need for Tesla to demonstrate that their approach is equally as save for both drivers and ie pedestrians. They haven’t done that, arguably the data shows the contrary. This generates the impression that Tesla skimps on security and if they skimp in one area, they’ll likely skimp in others. Stuff like the Rober video strengthens these impressions. It’s a public perception issue and Tesla has done nothing (and maybe isn’t able to do anything) to dispel this notion.

> What I don't really understand is what videos like this tell us.

A lot of people here might intuitively understand “does not have lidar” means “can be deceived with a visual illusion.” The value of a video like that is to paint a picture for people who don’t intuitively understand it. And for everyone, there’s an emotional reaction seeing it plow through a giant wall that resonates in ways an intellectual understanding might not.

Great communication speaks to both our “fast” and “slow” brains. His video did a great job IMHO.

> Is a Tesla any worse than you at spotting booby trapped roads

That would've been been the case if all laws, opinions and purchasing decisions were made by everyone acting rationally. Even if self driving cars are safer than human drivers, it just takes a few crashes to damage their reputation. It has to be much, much safer than humans for mass adoption. Ideally also safer than the competition, if you're comparing specific companies.