Why the Hunt for Google’s Waymo Robotaxi Is Raging in the US
Armed anti-Trump protesters are venting their anger over Google’s self-driving cars. What’s happening
After Tesla cars that have been vandalized for months in all four corners of the globe, now Waymo's smart electric cars are the favorite targets of arsonists who are literally setting fire to some of America's major cities, from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Smart in that they drive themselves, offering a ride to anyone who wants to experience the thrill of a ride in a driverless taxi, but not smart enough to grasp the danger posed by those who have decided to take to the streets armed against Donald Trump 's anti-immigration policies, while Trump himself rants from the pulpit of his personal social media .
THE HUNT FOR WAYMO ROBOTAXIS HAS BEGUN
The one paying the price is precisely the fleet of the startup born within Alphabet, Google's parent company, which is quickly taking action by recalling its autonomous vehicles to the garages. But the damage risks reverberating on the entire community, both because at least five robotaxis burned in the fire, dispersing highly polluting materials into the environment, and because electric car fires still represent a challenge for firefighters who often do not have the appropriate means to quickly cool the high temperatures that battery cells can reach.
For this reason, fires in plug-in cars can last for days and can be particularly dangerous if they occur indoors. Less bloody episodes of vandalism have also been recorded in Santa Monica, where unknown individuals placed traffic cones outside a Waymo warehouse, thus paralyzing the on-board computer, which interprets them as insurmountable obstacles.
Following the exit of rival Cruise , Waymo is currently the only company in the United States authorized by authorities to offer a driverless autonomous taxi service for paying passengers. According to data released by the Alphabet subsidiary, the vehicles in circulation located in cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, are over 1,500 for a total of more than 250,000 trips per week.
“BIG TECH TRUMP’S ACCOMPLICES”
The protest, born in response to a series of raids by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) against undocumented immigrants to be immediately repatriated without trial, would then have spread to Google's robotaxis because for those who oppose Trump's policies, Big Tech, at least according to what the editorialists in the American media interpret, with their alleged subservience to Trump would be exploited by political power to monitor and harness citizens.
The more than 150 arrests in the city of San Francisco alone have not calmed the anger of the protesters who are currently besieging the Federal Building in the city center, defended by the immigration police in riot gear and by the National Guard soldiers immediately called in by Trump. The large building houses the offices of numerous federal agencies, including those for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as that for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Waymo, for its part, has not commented on what is happening and its social media is silent for now, evidently preferring to keep a low profile and not attract the attention of those who are still on the streets ready to do battle. In the area reserved for press releases on the group's website, the most recent note is from May 5th and informs of a new "Expansion of" its "fleet through US production". A message that perhaps The Donald's detractors considered excessively Trumpian?
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/perche-negli-usa-infuria-la-caccia-al-robotaxi-waymo-di-google/ on Tue, 10 Jun 2025 13:19:17 +0000.