Social media users have been having a field day with Waymo’s autonomous vehicles, sharing videos that poke fun at the driverless cars getting stuck, acting unpredictably, or simply navigating the world a little too awkwardly.
The latest wave of posts follows Waymo’s recent expansion into Austin, where users are already documenting bizarre and frustrating experiences with the service.
TikTok user Becky Levin Navarro posted a video on April 20 claiming a Waymo car trapped her and her fellow passengers on the side of a highway after heading in the wrong direction. “This is the most insane thing. We’re in a Waymo, here, under Mopac,” she said. “It was going the wrong way, we called customer support, it stopped us right here and wouldn’t let us out of the car.”
@beckypearlatx Zero stars for waymo. When we pulled up next to Deep Eddy Cabaret and the waymo didn’t let us out and instead kept going the wrong direction towards downtown we said “please let us out here” it wouldn’t let us out so it headed east, turned around back towards deep eddy cabaret and then STOPPED in a horrible spot to stop. We kept asking for it to move and customer service refused. #waymo #tiktok
♬ original sound – Becky Levin Navarro
The video shows passengers speaking to customer support through the car’s intercom. The agent explains the car can’t be moved manually, and asks for a physical address to relocate the vehicle.
A Waymo spokesperson later responded: “Waymo riders always have the ability to pause their ride and exit the vehicle when desired. Passengers can exit the vehicle by pulling the handle twice—once to unlock and another to open the door.”
From being called “drunk robots” to causing traffic jams in the middle of the night, Waymo has become a regular subject of online trolling. Viral clips include Waymos honking at each other in the early morning hours, jamming up intersections, and getting stuck in drive-throughs. Some show police and parking enforcement stepping in to deal with wayward vehicles.
@bluenote727 Waymo Self Driving Car Big Malfunction 😳😳
♬ original sound – Blue Note 🔵
A video from San Francisco shows a Waymo going the wrong way during a Warriors game as officials try to redirect it. “It’s not funny. This is a very serious matter,” a police officer jokes to bystanders.
The vehicle eventually backs up, awkwardly swerving to avoid a pickup truck. “See, it worked!” the officer says with a shrug. “Still a little weird. I wouldn’t have went that way, but . . .”
@travellingnepali When a Waymo driverless car goes the wrong way during a Warriors game in SF… and the cops + parking enforcement have to teach it a lesson. ✋🤚 Waymo: processing… processing… 🤖 Finally… it gets the memo and turns back! 🚗💨 #Waymo #bayareacheck WaymorivingStruggles #SanFrancisco #WarriorsGame #driverlesscar #nepali
♬ original sound – Anil & Mansha
Waymo’s fleet has more than tripled on California roads over the past year. A DMV report from April 11 cites 30 autonomous vehicle incidents in 2024. Still, Waymo reports 81% fewer injury-causing crashes and 64% fewer airbag deployments compared to human drivers in San Francisco and Phoenix.
Despite its safety claims, the company remains a favorite online target. As Waymo expands into more cities—including a recent launch in Tokyo—the internet doesn’t seem ready to let the driverless cars off the hook.
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