People seeking to go “green” are spending hand over fist on the newest electric vehicles.
These consumers have quickly learned that many electric vehicles are nothing short of an expensive headache, especially in places that are ill-equipped to handle them.
And this leading EV manufacturer just got a fresh new headache after one vehicle went up in flames.
San Francisco rioters just proved a key fault in this promising invention
Recent reports in the mainstream media are indicating consumer demand for electric vehicles is trinkling to a halt.
With virtually every level of government passing policies to promote the production and sales of electric vehicles, the raw number of electric vehicles on the streets continues to increase.
Electric car manufacturer Waymo has taken this to a whole new level.
Waymo has having developed a line of 100% self-driving electric vehicles.
Waymo has tested a number of its revolutionary vehicles in cities like San Francisco to test their viability to create a better product, which it hopes to release worldwide.
But during a Lunar New Year celebration in San Francisco last Saturday, some rowdy revelers took things a bit too far, setting fire to an unmanned Waymo Robotaxi.
According to the Bay Area’s ABC 7, “Police say a Waymo car was set on fire by a mob of people. It happened during the Lunar New Year celebrations. No one was inside the car and officials are vowing to make arrests.”
One witness, Edwin Carungay, spoke out about the incident to ABC 7 saying, “They were putting out some rage for really no reason at all. They just wanted to vandalize something, and they did,” adding, “one young man jumped on the hood and on the windshield. That kind of started the whole melee.”
Nathan Vandersteen told ABC 7 he also saw the melee break out adding, “Then someone threw a firework inside the car.”
He then claimed, “Eventually people backed away. It was dangerous. The car could have exploded. It was a mob mentality, the adrenaline of the situation; it was mostly young teenagers responsible for damage and vandalism.”
These sorts of crimes are destroying the Bay Area and countless other communities
City officials, including police and fire department officials vow to hold these rioters accountable.
However, crimes like this have become a part of everyday life in the Bay Area.
Many fear that crimes like these will continue to pull much-needed investment away from the bay area.
Similarly, these actions reveal a key flaw with driverless electric vehicles.
When all hell breaks loose, these cars do not seem to have a fight or flight response.
Rioters are free to hijack the vehicles, causing significant amounts of damage to these expensive vehicles as a result.
At the end of the day, the out of control crime in San Francisco and other west coast cities are to blame for the fires that happened last weekend.
If city officials do not take this seriously, then companies like Waymo will pack their bags for another safer city in the near future.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
