In San Francisco’s Chinatown, a person jumped on the hood of Waymo’s self-driving Jaguar taxi and smashed the windshield, prompting applause, after which a crowd sprayed the car with spray paint, smashed the windows and set it on fire. The fire service arrived in a few minutes, but by that time the flames had already completely engulfed the car.

A representative of Waymo, Sandy Karp, told The Verge that the fully autonomous car was not transporting anyone at the moment, and the fire was caused by a firework thrown inside. Robert Rueca of the San Francisco Police Department confirmed that police responded to the call at “approximately” 8:50 p.m. PT and found the car already on fire, adding that there were “no reports of injuries.”

A video posted on FriscoLive415’s YouTube channel shows Waymo’s electric Jaguar being extinguished and the aftermath.

Another series of videos gives an insight into how the scene unfolded and how the fire started.

happening NOW in SF. Waymo car vandalized & lit on fire ????@sfchronicle pic.twitter.com/OEZYFiy6mv

— Michael Vandi (@michael_vandi) February 11, 2024

The fire comes amid simmering tensions between San Francisco residents and operators of automated vehicles. California’s Department of Transportation suspended Waymo’s competitor Cruise after one of the cars struck a pedestrian last year, and the self-driving taxis have previously wreaked havoc in the city, blocking traffic for an ambulance or crashing into a fire truck. Last week, a Waymo car hit a bicyclist following a truck that was swerving across the road.

Cruise robot taxis have lost their license to operate in California after hitting a pedestrian

City officials and residents opposed the cars being licensed to operate 24 hours a day last year, with some residents immobilizing them by attaching orange cones to the hoods of the cars in protest.

Robotaxi haters in San Francisco shut down Waymo and Cruise cars with traffic cones – put them on the hood and run away