A Los Angeles man said he recently missed his flight home after getting stuck in a Waymo that kept circling in a parking lot on his way to the airport.
Los Angeles tech entrepreneur Mike Johns posted a video on LinkedIn three weeks ago in which he called a Waymo customer service representative to report that the car had been spinning and that he was worried about missing his flight.
“I have a flight to catch. Why is this going in circles? I’m dizzy,” Johns said. “It circled the parking lot. I had my seatbelt on and I couldn’t get out. Was this hacked? What was going on? I felt like I was in a movie. Someone was following me Are you kidding?
The customer service representative told Johns to open his Waymo app and she would try to pull over, but it seemed to be having trouble getting the car to stop.
Johns was traveling home from Scottsdale, Arizona, according to CBS, which also noted that Johns “nearly” missed the flight.
According to Johns’ LinkedIn profile, he posted on social media that Waymo did not follow up with him after the experience.
“You would think Waymo would follow up via email, text message, or phone call by now,” he wrote. “No, customer service is automated and run by artificial intelligence.”
Waymo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The self-driving car company, a common sight on San Francisco streets for years, recently opened the service to all passengers after first launching a pilot program to select users. The robotaxi launched in Los Angeles last fall.
Waymo’s goal is to reduce traffic injuries and deaths through self-driving technology, with riders and supporters of the service praising it as a safe and simple alternative to human drivers.
But the company’s rollout of robotaxis in several cities has also seen technical glitches and safety issues.
A man in downtown Los Angeles allegedly tried to carjack a Waymo and drove off on Thursday. Police eventually rescued the man from the car and took him into custody.
There were also reports of passengers being harassed by pedestrians who blocked the path of cars and stalled them.
