November 29, 2024 at 3:49 pm

Three Waymo Self-Driving Taxis Were Tagged With Graffiti In One Night, In What May Be Pushback Against Self-Driving Vehicles

by Michael Levanduski

Source: Shutterstock

Waymo is a robotaxi service that will have a vehicle come pick you up and bring you where you want to go, without a driver in sight.

These self-driving vehicles aren’t yet perfect, but according to most data, they provide a safer driving experience than human drivers ever could.

There are some people, however, who are not happy with self-driving cars, and especially with self-driving taxi services like this. Some believe that they are a threat to privacy because they have so many cameras onboard.

Others are worried about potential safety concerns. Still others don’t like them because they will eliminate the need for people working jobs like taxi drivers, as well as gig work through Lyft or Uber.
Source: Shutterstock

One example of people fighting back against self-driving cars is a video that recently went viral. It shows several people coming up to a Waymo robotaxi so that it can’t move, and then tagging it with graffiti.

In the video, the passenger in the front seat is seen clutching a small poodle.

The event in the video is just one of three incidents that were reported in the Mission District of San Francisco on the evening of September 21st.

A spokesperson for the San Francisco police department gave a statement to Futurism, saying:

“[A]n online police report was filed on behalf of an autonomous vehicle operator. The reporter stated that there were three separate incidents of vandalism on three different autonomous vehicles.”

Source: Shutterstock
Waymo is a company owned by Alphabet (the parent company of Google). It is not certain that the graffiti was done as a protest against self-driving vehicles, or just random acts, at this point.

You can see the full video on X.

I can’t wait for all cars to be self-driving.

That said, it seems like it could still be quite a ways off.

If you enjoyed that story, check out what happened when a guy gave ChatGPT $100 to make as money as possible, and it turned out exactly how you would expect.

Senior Contributing Editor, Workplace & Community

Michael Levanduski is a veteran journalist and digital culture specialist with over 15 years of professional writing and research experience. While his background spans emerging technology and complex technical subjects, Michael specializes in analyzing workplace ethics, property disputes, and viral interpersonal dynamics across modern digital forums.

Since joining TwistedSifter in 2024, Michael has authored some of the publication’s most widely read coverage on corporate policy, malicious compliance, and neighborhood relations. Rather than simply aggregating online debates, he brings rigorous research, organizational context, and an empathetic editorial voice to everyday human dilemmas—transforming raw forum discussions into insightful, highly engaging narratives.

When he isn’t covering internet culture, Michael enjoys traveling, keeping up with tech trends, and spending time with his family. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn and Facebook.