An L.A. resident got more than she bargained for when her Waymo ride showed up with a man in the trunk, begging to be let out. In a viral TikTok video, she showed some guy trapped in the back of the robotaxi as he claimed “the people” put him in there for some reason.
Waymo, there’s a man in my robotaxi
Earlier this week, TikToker @luckythurman posted the footage of herself confronting the man in the trunk of a Waymo she ordered for her daughter. It’s unclear whether he announced himself or she found him while he was hiding, but either way, she was understandably upset.
“Why the f**k are you in the trunk?” she inquired.
“This sh*t won’t let me out,” he answered.
“Why are you in it?” the TikToker repeated.
“They put me in here,” he replied.
@luckythurman I ordered a Waymo for my daughter and a random was in the trunk. #viralvideo #fyp #waymo ♬ original sound – luckythurman
When she asked who apparently shoved the man into the Waymo trunk against his will, he could only come up with “the people.” He continued to try and explain himself as the TikToker stepped away from the vehicle.
The video gained over 4.9 million views as the first one posted to her account.
@luckythurman You wanted more video. This was real life and not a skit. #waymo #viralvideo #fyp #pt2 ♬ original sound – luckythurman
In a follow-up video, the robotaxi customer showed the police detaining the man in order to prove the original post “was not a skit.” She then panned to the inside of the car, where you can hear a company representative comping the cost of the ride.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Waymo said that the man hopped into the trunk when left open by the previous customer.
In an email to the Daily Dot, the company asserted that the TikToker told them she was okay and that they reached out to her after the incident.
“We’re committed to keeping our riders safe and earning the trust of the communities where we operate,” Waymo stated. “This experience was unacceptable, and we are actively implementing changes to address this.”
“He was 100% waiting for a victim!”
Waymo seems to be getting nothing but bad press lately. Last weekend, footage of three of their robotaxis in a “standoff” in the middle of a street after two of them hit each other went viral. That came after multiple reports of these vehicles striking and killing people’s pets.
With this latest incident, some are now concerned that bad actors could exploit the automated cars to assault riders.
“He took a ride, got out, acted like he was getting something out of the trunk, and got back in,” wrote @superonbrand on TikTok. “He was 100% waiting for a victim!”
“I’m not putting my child in no Waymo alone,” @yamama862 declared.
Certainly, the video has left potential customers with a lot of questions.
“Literally saw a video where they squeezed an extra person and the Waymo said they had cameras and it wouldn’t move until they got out, and so how is this overlooked???” @or_to_the_lando asked.
“They have too many cameras to not see someone in the car,” said @chontaeagain. “Also don’t they have sensors? …and where did he get in at? Why did he get in? Why did Waymo not see that person get in? This is too fishy for me? WHY WAS HE IN THE TRUNK IN THE FIRST PLACE?!!!!”
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