A row of Waymo autos burn on a avenue throughout an anti-ICE protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2025.
Benjamin Hanson | Afp | Getty Photos
A number of Waymo autonomous autos had been set ablaze in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday amid widespread protests towards President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
A spokesperson for the Alphabet-owned firm confirmed that 5 Waymo autos had been vandalized within the neighborhood of the protests and had been unable to be retrieved. Waymo suspended service within the protest space till it was deemed protected, the spokesperson added.
Waymo responded with steering from the Los Angeles Police Division, the spokesperson stated.
A Waymo automobile burns on the street as smoke billows throughout protests in Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2025.
David Pashaee | Afp | Getty Photos
The protests erupted in downtown LA on Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out raids within the metropolis and surrounding communities. Demonstrations had been largely peaceable, however tensions flared Saturday and Sunday, with police clashing with protesters close to the Metropolitan Detention Heart in downtown LA.
California Nationwide Guard members arrived within the metropolis on Sunday after Trump signed an order to deploy 2,000 troops in response to the protests. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom stated the state plans to file a lawsuit towards the Trump administration after it “illegally acted to federalize the Nationwide Guard,” Newsom wrote in a publish Monday on X.
Trump informed reporters outdoors the White Home Monday afternoon that he would assist arresting Newsom after Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, threatened to arrest the governor, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, and anybody else who obstructed immigration enforcement actions in California.
The stays of a burned Waymo automobile on the street following an evening of protests in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2025.
Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Photos
In a single picture, a line of Waymo robotaxis could be seen engulfed in flames, with anti-ICE graffiti scrawled throughout the automobiles’ hoods and doorways. It is unclear whether or not the autos had been intentionally focused.
Some folks had been seen tossing Lime e-scooters into the burning Waymo autos, the Los Angeles Instances reported.
“Burning lithium-ion batteries launch poisonous gases, together with hydrogen fluoride, posing dangers to responders and people close by,” the LAPD stated in a press release posted on X.
A shirtless protester stands atop a Waymo automobile throughout an anti-ICE protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2025.
Benjamin Hanson | Afp | Getty Photos
A Waymo in San Francisco’s Monetary District was additionally vandalized with graffiti on Sunday as folks demonstrated to assist the protests towards immigration raids in L.A., in response to a Reddit publish. It is unclear what number of autos had been affected.
Waymo started providing robotaxi rides throughout 80-plus sq. miles of LA in 2024. The service additionally operates in components of San Francisco, Phoenix and Austin, Texas.
The corporate has greater than 1,500 autos in its fleet throughout L.A., San Francisco, Phoenix and Austin.
Analysts from Cowen estimate that Waymo autos value $160,000 a chunk and that the corporate might have greater than 15,000 taxis in its fleet by 2030, because it “dramatically” ramps up manufacturing. The agency has a purchase score on Alphabet shares.
— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny and Jennifer Elias contributed reporting to this text.
