Vandals Target Self-Driving Taxis, Tag Them With Graffiti

The suspects, who were masked, filmed themselves using cellphones as they defaced the Waymo cars.

AP/Ross D. Franklin, file
A Waymo minivan, April 7, 2021, at Mesa, Arizona. AP/Ross D. Franklin, file

In a bizarre and unsettling scene that has captured internet users’ attention, a viral video shows several individuals cornering a stationary Waymo robotaxi on a San Francisco street and tagging it with graffiti.

One passenger, seated in the front, is seen holding a small beige poodle, adding a surreal touch to the incident.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the incident was one of three that took place at the Mission District on the evening of September 21.

“An online police report was filed on behalf of an autonomous vehicle operator,” a police spokesman said in an email to Futurism. “The reportee stated that there were three separate incidents of vandalism on three different autonomous vehicles.”

The suspects, who were masked, filmed themselves using cellphones as they defaced the Waymo cars, the police reported.

Waymo recently expanded its services at San Francisco, a city that has seen numerous confrontations involving autonomous vehicles and irate pedestrians. Such confrontations have included slashed tires and even cars being set on fire.

There have also been concerning instances of robotaxis committing traffic violations, such as driving against oncoming traffic. As of May this year, federal investigators were examining more than 20 incidents involving Waymo vehicles, Futirism reported.


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