Waymo problems in La La Land as robotaxis set aflame

Services locked down in America's second-largest city

Video Five Waymo robotaxis were torched on Sunday during protests against the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency's efforts to detain and deport suspected undocumented immigrants.

Social media footage from the protests shows the automated cars covered with graffiti and on fire. Some reports suggest protesters actually summoned the vehicles to the site, but sources familiar with the matter say the five cars torched were not specifically summoned - they just happened to be around.

Youtube Video

"We are in touch with law enforcement," a Waymo spokesperson told The Register.

The Los Angeles Police Department declined to offer any further information.

"We can't confirm any of that stuff," an LAPD spokesperson told The Register. "We saw just the same thing that everybody else did on TV."

"We're just going to say actual vehicles were damaged, not a Waymo, not Uber, not anything like that. We don't throw out the company's names on these things," the spokesperson added.

In the past, Waymo has reportedly given car footage to the police in investigations, just as Ring and other consumer camera systems have, although Amazon now requires a warrant. While it's possible some protestors knew about this and were targeting the cars as a preventative tactic, it's more likely just an outpouring of anger against a symbol of authority, as seen in San Francisco last year when passersby torched a Waymo last Chinese New Year after it got caught in the crowds.

Waymo wasn't the only tech firm that got caught up in the protests. Footage from the weekend shows police cars forced to shelter under a bridge on Route 101 after protestors threw Lime bikes down on them as they were heading to the scene.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has no comment at the time of going to press.

The protests started when the ICE agents moved into Los Angeles to round up immigrants who they believed were in the Land of the Free illegally. Local residents protested and blocked ICE vehicles, triggering a standoff that led to the California National Guard being called in by President Trump, despite California Governor Gavin Newsom insisting they weren't needed and calling for calm.

While the protests may have gone hot when it comes to lithium battery fires, the city is mostly calm about the issue, locals tell us. The protests seem confined to specific areas of the city and business is going on as normal in most areas. ®