Violence in Los Angeles has damaged at least six Waymo self-driving cars in recent days Protesting federal immigration attacksAccording to a representative of the company.
Self-driving cars, along with some lime electric scooters, have been destroyed, and in some cases caught fire and completely destroyed. A wide range of online shared videos, including videos of climbing Waymo Robotaxis on the windshield and slapping on the windshield, as well as clips of Waymo cars engulfed in flames, quickly became key images of protests in downtown Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Police Department warned people on Sunday to avoid the area because toxins are exposed to the ignition battery. All self-driving taxis deployed by Waymo, owned by Waymo letterit is electricity. “The burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, pose a risk to responders and those nearby,” the department warned in a social media post.
A Waymo spokesman said no Waymo’s rider or employee was harmed in the incident and that the passengers exited the vehicle before being vandalized. As the protests continued, the company stopped service downtown on Monday, although Waymo continued to operate in the Los Angeles area.
“For the most recent events, we have removed vehicles from downtown Los Angeles and will not currently serve specific areas of Los Angeles,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement.
It is unclear whether protesters decided to target Waymo cars or lime scooters specifically, and as protests escalate, vehicles and scooters may be in a unfortunate position.
The Los Angeles department forwarded all the questions to Waymo and said whether any incident reports have been submitted at this time. Waymo declined to comment on total estimated losses, and Lime declined to comment. Analysts have Estimated The Waymo Jaguar I-Pace SUV with radar and lidar equipment costs between $150,000 and $200,000.
According to the company, anti-ice protests have also been underway in San Francisco, and another isolated example is the cause of rebellion.
Stumble into the crosshair
Self-driving vehicles have regularly become targets for vandals, with tire cuts or throwing fireworks into the vehicle. A few years ago, a man with an axe Chase Several self-driving cruise taxis on San Francisco Street – sometimes with passengers inside.
President Donald Trump ordered the National Guard to intervene in Los Angeles on Saturday. Protesters clashed with police, trash bins were damaged, and the Los Angeles Police Department shared videos of a robbed store on social media.
By Monday, the protests had calmed down, although a large number of protesters still marched downtown.
Waymo, run In San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin, and planned to launch in Austin and Miami, it is currently the only robotics company in the United States to offer commercial operations in several different markets. Tesla yes Prepare for launch The robotics service will be available in Austin this month, although the launch of only 10 to 20 vehicles will be very limited in the first place. Waymo said it had exceeded 10 million rides by the end of May.
This story was originally fortune.com
