Angry San Francisco Crowd Lights a Waymo Self-Driving Car on Fire
We know that the Super Bowl causes emotions, but you shouldn’t take them out on innocent vehicles. A Waymo self-driving EV was just trying to do its job when an angry mob set it on fire. To make matters worse, it was an expensive Jaguar I-PACE model, which is pretty expensive.
San Francisco mob vandalizes a self-driving Jaguar I-PACE EV
On Saturday evening, the night before the Super Bowl an innocent self-driving Waymo vehicle accidentally was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
An angry crowd in Chinatown surrounded the Jaguar I-PACE electric SUV and started to vandalize it. This was the most serious attack on a driverless vehicle in America so far.
People were using fireworks to celebrate the Chinese New Year, plus the 49ners were about to enter the Super Bowl.
The crowd was hyped up and started jumping on the I-Pace. People cheered as one person shattered the windshield. People sprayed graffiti on the sides and someone shattered the windows with a skateboard.
The situation created two groups of people. One that cheered for destruction and another that stood there filming the events.
Someone eventually threw fireworks into the car, causing it to go up in flames. A black plume of smoke engulfed the white SUV and it was charred beyond recognition.
Waymo is unaware of any accidents or injuries related to the accident. At the time, the vehicle wasn’t carrying any passengers. Waymo is working with local authorities to determine who was involved.
The I-PACE model was equipped with 29 cameras, but it’s unclear if the footage is retrievable after the vehicle burned. The incident won’t stop Waymo from growing. Its driverless fleet traveled over 3.3 million miles in 2023.
Also, the 2024 I-PACE starts at $72,000 but is eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit. It has 394 hp and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds. However, it only has a range of 249 miles, which falls a bit short.
It offers luxurious options such as a panoramic sunroof with a shade, a 10-inch infotainment system, heated and ventilated seats, suede upholstery, and an 825-watt Meridian sound system.
Attacks on driverless cars aren’t new. People often jump on their hoods, get in their path, or set orange cones on top to disrupt the sensors. But this attack took things to a new level of destruction.
