THIS is the shocking moment a large crowd furiously sets a self-driving electric taxi on fire in the middle of the street.
The crowd smashed the car to pieces before leaving it a burning wreckage as fury continues to grow over futuristic robo-cars taking over the US.
ReutersA self-driving electric taxi was set on fire in the middle of San Fransisco by an angry crowd[/caption]
ReutersThe self-driving robo-taxi was stopped by residents in the street and vandalised badly[/caption]
ReutersThick clouds of black smoke can be seen billowing into the sky after a firework is thought to have been shot inside the car[/caption]
A group of angry locals were filmed vandalising the Waymo self-driving motor before they shot a flaming firework inside the front seat leaving it to explode and set the car ablaze.
The horror fire broke out on Saturday 10, on the streets of San Fransisco, according to the Alphabet-owned company and local authorities.
Chilling footage shows the aggressive mob surrounding a white sport utility vehicle moving along a street in the city’s Chinatown district.
A person can be seen smashing the car’s windshield with a skateboard as others scratch the taxi and leave it badly marked.
A video then shows the battered taxi engulfed in huge flames as menacing plumes of black smoke soar into the night sky.
Waymo said a firework was launched inside the taxi and set the vehicle on fire as bystanders looked on.
They went on to say: “The vehicle was not transporting any riders and no injuries have been reported.
“We are working closely with local safety officials to respond to the situation.”
Michael Vandi – a witness to the shocking scenes said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “There were 2 groups of people. Folks who encourage it – and others who were just shocked & started filming.
“No one stood up – I mean there wasn’t anything you could do to stand up to dozens of people.”
People were on the streets for China’s Lunar New Year as many set off fireworks to celebrate.
The San Francisco Police Department said it was investigating what caused the fire and didn’t say if any arrests have been made yet.
The electric car was thought to be a Jaguar I-PACE and is equipped with 29 cameras and other high-tech sensors to help it drive safely through the streets without a human.
This has been considered the most destructive attack on a driverless car in the US so far as people continue to be frustrated by the takeover of human less products.
San Francisco has seen fierce protests over self-driving cars before as people block off roads to stop the cars passing and try to enter the taxis in dangerous moves.
More intense protests have seen people jumping on the car’s hoods, spreading graffiti on the doors and even smashing windows.
People have also been seen sticking orange traffic cones on top of cars to block off sensors and force them to stop abruptly in the street.
Previously, a terrifying video of a driverless “robot taxi” went viral after it was seen swerving towards a pedestrian while helpless back-seat passengers filmed the journey.
In the TikTok clip, the autonomous motor can be seen steering aggressively towards a pedestrian crossing before illegally reversing through a junction also on a busy San Francisco street.
This comes after a recent report detailing how terrorists could hack into driverless cars and use them for mass casualty attacks in the UK.
ReutersOne man even threw his skateboard into the window to smash the glass[/caption]
APThe Waymo taxi has 29 cameras and several other high-tech sensors to help it drive safely through the streets without a human[/caption]