Waymo Is Suing Individuals Who Allegedly Smashed and Slashed Its Robotaxis

The folks of San Francisco haven’t all the time been sort to Waymo’s rising fleet of driverless taxis. The autonomous autos, which give tens of hundreds of rides every week, have been torched, stomped on, and verbally berated in latest months. Now Waymo is hanging again—within the courts.

This month, the Silicon Valley firm filed a pair of lawsuits, neither of which have been beforehand reported, that demand lots of of hundreds of {dollars} in damages from two alleged vandals. Waymo attorneys mentioned in court docket papers that the alleged vandalism, which ruined dozens of tires and a tail finish, are a major menace to the corporate’s repute. Driving in a car by which the steering wheel swivels by itself may be scary sufficient. Having to fret about attackers allegedly focusing on the rides might undermine Waymo’s ride-hailing enterprise earlier than it even will get previous its earliest stage.

Waymo, which falls underneath the umbrella of Google mother or father Alphabet, operates a ride-hailing service in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles that’s corresponding to Uber and Lyft besides with sensors and software program controlling the driving. Whereas its automobiles haven’t contributed to any identified lethal crashes, US regulators proceed to probe their typically erratic driving. Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp says the corporate all the time prioritizes security and that the lawsuits mirror that technique. She declined additional remark for this story.

In a submitting final week within the California Superior Court docket of San Francisco County, Waymo sued a Tesla Mannequin 3 driver whom it alleges deliberately rear-ended certainly one of its autonomous Jaguar crossovers. In response to the go well with, the driving force, Konstantine Nikka-Sher Piterman, claimed in a publish on X that “Waymo simply rekt me” earlier than occurring to ask Tesla CEO Elon Musk for a job. The opposite lawsuit from this month, filed in the identical court docket, targets Ronaile Burton, who allegedly slashed the tires of at the least 19 Waymo autos. San Francisco prosecutors have filed legal prices towards her to which she has pleaded not responsible. A listening to is scheduled for Tuesday.

Burton’s public defender, Adam Birka-White, says in an announcement that Burton “is somebody in want of assist and never jail” and that prosecutors proceed “to prioritize punishing poor folks on the behest of firms, on this case involving a tech firm that’s underneath federal investigation for creating harmful situations on our streets.”

An legal professional for Burton within the civil case hasn’t been named in court docket data, and Burton is presently in jail and couldn’t be reached for remark. Piterman didn’t reply to a voicemail, a LinkedIn message, and emails looking for remark. He hasn’t responded in court docket to the accusations.

Primarily based on obtainable data from courts in San Francisco and Phoenix, it seems that Waymo hasn’t beforehand filed comparable lawsuits.

Within the Tesla case, Piterman “unlawfully, maliciously, and deliberately” sped his automotive previous a cease signal and right into a Waymo automotive in San Francisco on March 19, in line with the corporate’s go well with. When the Waymo tried to tug over, Piterman allegedly drove the Tesla into the Waymo automotive once more. He then allegedly entered the Waymo and later threatened a Waymo consultant who responded to the scene in particular person. San Francisco police cited Piterman, in line with the lawsuit. The police didn’t reply to WIRED’s request for remark.