Latest news with #anti-Waymo
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- Automotive
- San Francisco Chronicle
Waymo is routing cars away from S.F. ICE protests. How did the robotaxis become a protest symbol?
Lighting cars on fire has long been a tactic to escalate protests and capture the public's attention. But demonstrators opposing the immigration raids in Los Angeles have a new target: Waymo robotaxis. At least five Waymos had been torched in Los Angeles as of Monday, each creating a dramatic, made-for-social media tableau. Photos that circulated online showed the jaunty electric Jaguars engulfed in flames and spattered with graffiti as demonstrators leapt atop their hoods. In one particularly dramatic image, a masked protestor stands on a Waymo and raises a skateboard over his shoulder, as though preparing to smash it through the vehicle's windshield. The vandalism reached a point that prompted Waymo to divert service from downtown Los Angeles and other areas where protests were anticipated, including parts of San Francisco, a company spokesperson told the Chronicle. 'People are looking to attack symbols of power,' said Omar Wasow, an assistant professor of political science at UC Berkeley. Following a police officer's murder of George Floyd in 2020, people set fire to police cars in Seattle, Minneapolis and Philadelphia. Now, in an era when Big Tech is shaping society — and many Silicon Valley executives are aligning with President Donald Trump — resistance movements have a new target to direct their rage. While Waymo cars are far removed from the immigration debate, they can serve as a kind of proxy for the world's most influential corporations: Waymo's parent company, Alphabet, owns Google. Anti-tech sentiment can easily translate into 'anti-Waymo sentiment,' Wasow said. However, the messaging might not be that deep. Since they roam downtown streets without drivers and obediently stop whenever an object blocks their path, Waymos are fairly easy to set ablaze, Wasow noted. And the lithium batteries in the vehicles make them burn hotter and longer for maximum spectacle. If the cars represent Silicon Valley's infiltration of public roads, they can also be hapless victims. Vandals who set fire to a Waymo driverless car in San Francisco's Chinatown neighborhood last year had no clear social crusade. Police later arrested a teenager for the crime. 'There's a lot of wanton destruction that's completely disconnected from any symbolism,' said Cameron Gieda, a mobility executive who specializes in autonomous vehicles. Gieda, who lives in Los Angeles, heard the staccato chop of helicopters flying over his roof Monday. He said he's witnessed a lot of civil unrest in which protestors destroy cars — possibly, he reasoned, to create an obstruction for traffic or law enforcement. Whether such acts are effective for making a statement has long been a point of contention among activists and academics. Violence and property damage grabs headlines and accelerates media coverage, Wasow said. Yet it also skews that coverage. 'It tends to have the protest framed not around the core question of 'Is mass deportation a just policy? ''' Wasow said. Rather, he concluded, the conflict between protestors and police, or the incineration of autonomous vehicles, becomes the story. But perhaps not in San Francisco, at least on Monday. 'We're temporarily adjusting our service,' the Waymo app stated, in response to a request for a car downtown, 'which may limit availability in some areas and increase wait times and routing. Thank you for your patience.'
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
What is a Waymo and why are LA demonstrators targeting them in ICE protests?
California has been coping with civil unrest, as swarms of protesters have taken to the streets following a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting workplaces in Los Angeles County. During these protests, some Waymo cars were vandalized and set on fire. According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, demonstrators apparently used the vehicles to get to protest sites. Once there, the cars were torn apart by the angry crowd. This is not the first time Waymo cars have been target of vandalism in California amid concerns about the risk these driver-less cars might posses to public safety. Throughout 2024, at least 19 Waymo cars were vandalized in three separate incidents across California, Los Angeles Times reported. It remains unclear whether there is any connection between anti-Waymo sentiments and the ongoing protests unfolding in the Golden State. A subsidiary of Google, Waymo is a fleet of autonomous vehicles with self-driving capabilities. The company is an alternative to taxis and ride services like Uber. In Dec. 2018, the company became the world's first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service when it launched its services in Phoenix. Today, the company has partnered with Uber in some of the cities where the autonomous cars are available. In Phoenix, for instance, Waymo cars can only be requested via de Uber app, says the company's website. The company's website lists Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin as the places where they operate. Soon, Waymo cars will be available in Atlanta and Miami, the company announced. This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: What is a Waymo and why are LA ICE protestors burning them?
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
What is a Waymo and why are LA demonstrators targeting them in ICE protests?
California has been coping with civil unrest, as swarms of protesters have taken to the streets following a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting workplaces in Los Angeles County. During these protests, some Waymo cars were vandalized and set on fire. According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, demonstrators apparently used the vehicles to get to protest sites. Once there, the cars were torn apart by the angry crowd. This is not the first time Waymo cars have been target of vandalism in California amid concerns about the risk these driver-less cars might posses to public safety. Throughout 2024, at least 19 Waymo cars were vandalized in three separate incidents across California, Los Angeles Times reported. It remains unclear whether there is any connection between anti-Waymo sentiments and the ongoing protests unfolding in the Golden State. A subsidiary of Google, Waymo is a fleet of autonomous vehicles with self-driving capabilities. The company is an alternative to taxis and ride services like Uber. In Dec. 2018, the company became the world's first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service when it launched its services in Phoenix. Today, the company has partnered with Uber in some of the cities where the autonomous cars are available. In Phoenix, for instance, Waymo cars can only be requested via de Uber app, says the company's website. The company's website lists Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin as the places where they operate. Soon, Waymo cars will be available in Atlanta and Miami, the company announced. This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: What is a Waymo and why are LA ICE protestors burning them?
