Things took quite a dark turn after the Lunar New Year celebration in San Francisco as people who were on the streets were witness to unknown assailants vandalizing a Waymo One driverless car, later setting it on fire. As people were setting off fireworks in the streets, a Waymo Jaguar I-Pace electric car was waiting for the crowd to disperse and give it way before getting attacked.
Fortunately, the Waymo One vehicle had no passengers on board the robotaxi service, and there were no injured people at the scene.
Waymo Car Vandalized in San Francisco, Set on Fire
A user, Michael Vandi, posted videos on X that shared the events that took place on Jackson Street, San Francisco, where a Waymo One driverless car was attacked by the public and vandalized with graffiti. However, it did not stop there, as the car was also set on fire moments later, with the footage caught on camera and caused terror amongst the public.
Others were running in fear, but some approached the vehicle to add their marks and help destroy it, with the eyewitness claiming that it started with a person who jumped on its hood and broke its windshield.
It was also shown that the Waymo car had no passengers inside, and it was giving way to the pedestrians celebrating on the road before it proceeded on its way.
happening NOW in SF. Waymo car vandalized & lit on fire 🤯@sfchronicle pic.twitter.com/OEZYFiy6mv
— Michael Vandi (@michael_vandi) February 11, 2024
Waymo Lunar New Year Incident in SF City
San Francisco's police and fire department responded to the incident, with the SFFD sharing the incident on their social media page (via X), claiming that it was surrounded by the public and vandalized. Moreover, it was shared by SFFD that the fire started because of people setting fireworks inside the car when the windows were broken.
This ultimately led to the vehicle catching on fire, and since it is a BEV (battery electric vehicle), it led to a massive one in the middle of the street.
Waymo and its Operations in SF
San Francisco is best known as the Golden State City as it is home to the world-renowned bridge, but lately, it is popular as it was the first city that approved the experimental operations of autonomous robotaxi services. Before the pandemic, Waymo launched its company to bring this feature to all, but it was only given a license in 2021 in SF to offer its services to the public.
Initially, it shared the city with GM's Cruise, and both went on their separate ways to bring their autonomous driving service to other cities in the United States, including the likes of Phoenix, Washington D.C., Houston, Dallas, and more.
The latest development for Waymo's SF operations is having received its 24/7 operations license which allows it to extend its hours for all passengers.
An incident involving a Waymo driverless car took place last week, centering on the robotaxi hitting a cyclist at an intersection, but no grave injuries were sustained. Now, it saw another incident involving the driverless car but this time, it was the subject of the attack, receiving massive destruction from unknown vandalizers that left it burning amidst the Lunar New Year's celebration.
