OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
5:16 PM – Monday, June 9, 2025
The U.S. autonomous vehicle company Waymo has temporarily suspended operations in downtown Los Angeles following a series of arson attacks perpetrated by leftist and liberal anti-ICE activists targeting its self-driving cars over the weekend.
According to Forbes, at least five Waymo vehicles were deliberately set on fire on Sunday, prompting the company to withdraw its fleet from the area and halt services as a precautionary measure.
“To our media partners, demonstrators and others who may enter the area of Los Angeles St, North of Arcadia and South of Alameda: Burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, posing risks to responders and those nearby. Please avoid the area,” the LAPD posted on X on Sunday.
On Sunday, as anti-ICE activists blocked the 101 Freeway, a handful of them approached “five Waymo taxis lined up on Los Angeles Street between Arcadia and Alameda streets around 5 p.m.,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
“Tires were slashed, windows smashed, and anti-ICE messages spray-painted over the self-driving taxis … Protesters swarmed around the vehicles, tearing the doors off and stomping on the windshields. One man with a mask over his face smashed car windows with a skateboard. Another appeared to use a makeshift flamethrower to set the interior of a car ablaze,” the outlet continued.
KTLA, an outlet that covers news in Los Angeles and Southern California, also stated that: “According to a 2024 report by the Wall Street Journal, analysts estimated Waymo’s driverless cars cost between $150,000 and $200,000 apiece… With the five burning robotaxis, the cost of damages would amount to roughly between $750,000 to $1 million, based on WSJ’s estimate.”
Waymo originated as the Google Self-Driving Project, an initiative within the Google X research division focused on autonomous vehicle technology. In 2016, the project was rebranded as Waymo and transitioned under the umbrella of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company.
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