This text was initially printed June 9 at 6:43 am PT. It has been up to date to replicate new data from Waymo.
A number of Waymo robotaxis and Lime e-scooters have been set on fireplace this weekend amid unrest in downtown Los Angeles spurred by teams protesting immigration raids within the metropolis by the Trump administration.
A gaggle of protesters attacked 5 Waymo autonomous automobiles on Los Angeles Road early on Sunday night, reports the Los Angeles Times. They slashed tires, broke home windows, spray-painted anti-ICE messages, and set the automobiles on fireplace. At one level, “the besieged Waymos started honking their horns in coordinated cacophony,” the LA Occasions wrote.
The Occasions reviews that some Lime e-scooters have been additionally thrown into the burning shells of Waymo’s Jaguar I-Paces. The LAPD famous that setting fireplace to lithium-ion batteries releases poisonous gases like hydrogen fluoride, posing a threat to bystanders.
It’s not clear why protesters attacked the Waymo automobiles. Prior to now, police have tapped robotaxi firms for footage to help solve crimes — in April, 404 Media reported that the LAPD printed video footage obtained from a Waymo driverless automotive as a part of an investigation right into a separate hit-and-run incident.
Lime didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Waymo advised TechCrunch the corporate was in contact with the LAPD and would pursue legal prosecution of and damages from those that vandalized its robotaxis in LA over the weekend. Waymo didn’t reply to TechCrunch’s query about offering digicam footage to authorities to establish protesters.
There have been social media reports that Waymo has eliminated its automobiles from LA and suspended its service. TechCrunch has reached out to Waymo to study extra.
Since Waymo launched its self-driving ride-hail service in Los Angeles in November 2024, its automobiles have been the goal of a number of acts of vandalism in Los Angeles and different cities it operates in. In July 2024, a Bay Space resident was charged with vandalizing 17 Waymos in San Francisco over the course of three days.
The protests in Los Angeles started on June 6 in response to a collection of aggressive ICE raids throughout the town, resulting in the arrest of over 100 immigrants. A mixture of peaceable and violent protests unfold over the weekend to Paramount and Compton, and blocked main freeways.
President Trump responded by federalizing the California Nationwide Guard, and deploying as much as 300 soldiers to Los Angeles. State and metropolis officers opposed this motion, with California Governor Gavin Newsom formally requesting the elimination of Nationwide Guard troops, saying the transfer was a “serious breach of state sovereignty.”
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth stated over the weekend he’s ready to mobilize the Marines if violence continues.
Movies circulating on-line present LAPD personnel beating back anti-ICE protesters, and even some journalists, with batons and rubber bullets.