“Frames and wheels were the only distinguishable remnants of the cars.” Such was the horror aftermath captured on a June 9 video, as Waymo self driving cabs remained hollow and charred in downtown Los Angeles, victims of a weekend that had witnessed immigration raids protests turn violent and end in arson. For the city’s increasingly tech-savvy commuters and autonomous vehicle devotees, the image was more than symbolic it was a harsh reminder of the vulnerabilities that continue to plague the future of urban mobility.
The protests, which broke out after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided several companies on June 6, quickly attracted a federal reaction. President Trump directed the deployment of at least 2,000 National Guard troops, which was called a “brazen abuse of power” and “unlawful” by California Governor Gavin Newsom in a lawsuit against the administration. While tensions mounted over the weekend, the downtown center was a hotbed of activism, with protesters fighting with police, torching buildings, and destroying property least five Waymo cars set on fire and abandoned as smoldering heaps on Los Angeles Street during ICE protests.
Waymo, which was the autonomous car trailblazer spun out of Google’s autonomous car program, moved quickly. “We do not believe our vehicles were intentionally targeted, but rather happened to be present during the protests,” a company spokesperson said to CBS News. The company, however, suspended its ride hailing service in downtown Los Angeles “out of an abundance of caution” and coordinated with the Los Angeles Police Department to take its fleet out of the area. Operations elsewhere in the city were still ongoing, but the company would not say when or if the service would return downtown after 5 cars were set on fire during protests.
The burning of those vehicles shed light on a common issue in the autonomous vehicle (AV) world how to safeguard driverless fleets against vandalism, arson, and other types of tampering. Waymo’s electric Jaguar I-PACE cabs, like most contemporary EVs, use lithium-ion batteries. When ignited, these batteries release poison gas, such as hydrogen fluoride, causing police to advise people to stay away from the scene as the odor of smoke and chemicals wafted around downtown after 5 cars burned in protests.
These types of incidents are not uncommon. Waymo cars have been regular targets for vandalism since their introduction to Los Angeles late in 2024. There was an incident early this year in Beverly Grove where a Waymo was vandalized in San Francisco, a car was firebombed with fireworks in Chinatown, and another person was charged with wrecking 17 Waymos in three days in Castro Valley during ICE protests. Such acts vary from tire slashing and graffiti to more high tech efforts to deceive AV algorithms by jamming sensors or blocking paths, occasionally with bodies or traffic cones The Waymo Vandalism Incident A Wake Up Call For The AV Industry.
The legal protections for AVs are still in transition. In California, it is a felony to commit vandalism that exceeds $400 in value, but the new circumstances of autonomous cars driving with no human at the helm present novel liability and enforcement issues. One Forbes analysis explained it thus “If a manned vehicle was in this situation they could likely drive away and if someone was injured in their retreat it would be considered an affirmative defense. In the recent incident the AV has almost no choice but to put up with the vandalism.” The fact that AVs cannot dynamically react to threats, combined with the possibility of viral social media clips, has made them low hanging and prominent fruit during disturbances.
Waymo and other AV firms have spent considerable money on anti tampering and security features. These feature hardened sensor housings, real time monitoring via onboard cameras, and remote shutdown capability. But as the experience in Los Angeles showed, these systems are not intended to withstand concerted acts of vandalism or arson in civil disturbances. Police agencies are increasingly asked to collaborate with AV operators, sending patrols into high risk areas and investigating accidents. There is also talk of creating “no ride” lists for those who are responsible for attacks on AVs, but these measures are contingent upon strong evidence and cooperation from the public The Waymo Vandalism Incident A Wake Up Call For The AV Industry.
For ride sharing fleets, emergency response procedures have become more advanced. Routines now include tracking protest activity and police advisories, re-routing or recalling vehicles when dangers heighten. In the LA protests, Waymo’s withdrawal of its fleet was coordinated with the LAPD, representing a new benchmark for operational caution in risky situations. The company’s prompt cancellation of service and vehicle extraction probably avoided additional losses and kept risks to public safety to a minimum.
The larger political and social context of the LA riots highlights the convergence of technology, policy, and public opinion. The protests, which started following ICE raids in the Fashion District, escalated when federal troops were deployed. Mayor Karen Bass instituted a curfew, and law enforcement deployed crowd control measures, such as flash bang grenades and tear gas, to deflate crowds. In the midst of the mayhem, not only were Waymo cars but Lime e-scooters and other assets also torched, which meant the violence may have been less about targeting individual technologies and more about the indiscriminate nature of chaos during ICE protests.
Nevertheless, the symbolism of torching autonomous vehicles did not elude onlookers. As racial justice organizer Samuel Sinyangwe wrote on X, “There are people on here saying it’s violent and domestic terrorism to set a Waymo car on fire. A robot car? Are you going to demand justice for the robot dogs next? But not the human beings repeatedly shot with rubber bullets in the street? What kind of politics is this?”
Why Waymos Have Been Vandalized by Protesters The Los Angeles incidents have become a case study in the struggles confronting autonomous mobility in an era where politics, technology, and public disorder increasingly converge. As AVs are more fully embedded in city life, the demand for strong security protocols, clear laws, and flexible operational procedures will increase. The torched Waymo hulks on Los Angeles Street are a visible reminder of the dangers and the resilience of the transportation of the future.
