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US man failed to steal robotaxi, charged with attempted grand theft auto

Authorities said the alleged offender couldn't put the vehicle in drive which led to his arrest after police were called.


US police have arrested a 33-year-old man after he allegedly attempted to steal a self-driving Waymo robotaxi.

Los Angeles authorities claimed the would-be thief entered the autonomous Jaguar I-Pace SUV after it dropped a passenger off at their destination, attempting to put the car in drive but failing to do so.

According to the US media outlet NBC News, a Waymo employee told the man to leave the vehicle and when he refused to follow instructions, the worker called the police who then arrested the alleged offender.

A Waymo spokesperson confirmed there was no one injured in the incident and no damage was inflicted on the luxury car.

The alleged thief was charged with attempted grand theft auto.

This news comes as some US pedestrians have scaled up their aggression towards self-driving vehicles – with a previous Waymo robotaxi vandalised and set on fire earlier this year, as reported by Drive.

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Ethan Cardinal

Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.

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