Waymo’s self-driving taxi vandalized and set on fire in San Francisco

A group of people vandalized and set fire to a self-driving taxi in San Francisco, California, during Chinese New Year celebrations.

The incident occurred on the night of February 10 near San Francisco’s Chinatown, when several people vandalized a car and threw fireworks inside, causing it to catch fire.

happening NOW in San Francisco. Waymo car vandalized and set on fire 🤯@sfchronicle pic.twitter.com/OEZYFiy6mv

— Michael Vandi (@michael_vandi) February 11, 2024

A Waymo representative confirmed to the portal Edge that the taxi was empty at the time of the incident, so no injuries were reported.

Waymo, the Alphabet company pushing the self-driving car market, has been testing this type of vehicle in San Francisco for some time. The company also plans to move its service to the city of Los Angeles, where it offers invitation-based translations to a small group of users.

However, companies making self-driving cars are facing resistance from both citizens and lawmakers over concerns that they will displace people or will not be safe enough.

Late last year, a woman in San Francisco had her leg broken by a self-driving car owned by Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors. Although the incident was not caused by a fully autonomous vehicle, but by another vehicle striking a pedestrian and sending him away from where Cruz’s car was located, it appears that this class of vehicle is still not safe enough to pass without a human operator.