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TechCrunch Mobility: A robotaxi ultimatum
12 July 2026 at 12:07
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, how AI is playing a part.
Two California teens have learned that Waymo's robotaxis can and will enforce their rider rules on misbehaving passengers. It probably seemed like a marvelous jape—ride around in the back of a robotaxi getting drunk and doing drive-bys, shooting stuff with gel beads. And perhaps it was, until that robotaxi and Waymo worked out what was going on. Waymo then stopped the car and alerted the San Mateo Police, who showed up and detained the troublemakers, according to a post on the department's Facebook page.
"After calling us and stopping the car, we were able to safely remove both subjects and determined they were shooting Orbeez from the car as they sipped on afternoon libations while being chauffeured around town in the driverless vehicle," the police wrote.
This isn't the first instance of a Waymo robotaxi snitching on misbehaving passengers. According to Reddit, last year two men in Los Angeles were reported to the police for drinking inside a robotaxi.
© Aurich Lawson | Getty Images
