No one was in Waymo’s driverless taxi as it was surrounded and set on fire in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
A person jumped on the hood of a Waymo driverless taxi and smashed its windshield in San Francisco’s Chinatown last night around 9PM PT, generating applause before a crowd formed around the car and covered it in spray paint, breaking its windows, and ultimately set it on fire.
The fire takes place against the backdrop of simmering tension between San Francisco residents and automated vehicle operators. The California DMV suspended Waymo rival Cruise’s robotaxi operations after one of its cars struck and dragged a pedestrian last year, and prior to that, automated taxis had caused chaos in the city, blocking traffic or crashing into a fire truck. Just last week, a Waymo car struck a cyclist who had reportedly been following behind a truck turning across its path.
I recently learned that Lynch really didn’t like the final version of his Dune and I really wish I could see what he would have come up with if he’d been able to do more.
Also, I want to see Michael Kirkbride’s Dune.