Robotaxis Get Real

Flying cars may not have arrived yet, but the long-awaited era of everyday robotaxis is here. And not just in America, if I’m correctly reading signals about the state of the industry from the last several days. They were all equally eye-opening, even if one was a little grim. 

In Los Angeles, a real-life “Black Mirror” moment played out, with protestors setting fire to several Waymos as part of an escalating series of demonstrations over immigration policy. That likely wouldn’t have happened even a year ago—Waymo hadn’t launched to the public in Los Angeles at that point—and it was a reminder of how the company has picked up the pace of its rollout lately. (I’m sure it also sent some team at Waymo hurrying to figure out the best practices for shutting off robotaxis during times of future public unrest.) The cars have quickly become such a core part of people’s minds in the cities they’re in that they’re now useful political effigies.