Waymo Apologizes to Woman Who Filmed Honking Robotaxis

Waymo apologized and offered a promotional ride credit to a woman who filmed its honking robotaxis, which she used throughout the day

This past summer, Sophia Tung established a livestream that captured the sound of self-driving Waymo vehicles honking from the San Francisco parking lot near her apartment at all night hours.

Waymo hosted an ice cream celebration in Tung’s building as a gesture of goodwill and provided the software engineer with promo codes that could be redeemed for complimentary rides.

It is possible that the attire underestimated her. After providing a few acquaintances with codes, Tung realized that the codes were not capped in value and resolved to utilize her final one to ride in a Waymo for 24 hours, visiting tourist destinations such as Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, and Twin Peaks.

Regrettably, her Waymo terminated the journey with 20 miles remaining, cutting short her plans after 83 miles and 6.5 hours.

It appeared to be for the best. Tung declared as she endeavored to reclaim sensation in her legs following the lengthy journey that concluded in her neighborhood, “Six hours and 30 minutes; I will never repeat that.”