October 28, 2025
Who do you sue: the robot or the suit?
Society will accept a death caused by a robotaxi, Waymo co-CEO says
Internet split: safer roads vs who pays when a bot kills, with Tesla shade and lawyer jokes
TLDR: Waymo’s co-CEO says society will accept a future robotaxi-caused death if autonomous cars cut overall crashes. The crowd is split between safety-by-the-numbers and “who’s liable?”—with lawyer jokes, Tesla shade, and demands for real transparency making this a trust test for the driverless future.
Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana told a live crowd at TechCrunch Disrupt that, if self‑driving cars lower overall crashes, “society will” accept that one day a robotaxi could still cause a death. She stressed transparency and pointed to Waymo’s safety hub, and even threw shade at rivals like Tesla for not meeting the bar. But the internet? Oh, it lit up.
The top vibe: distrust. One commenter snapped that an “army of lawyers” will make us accept it anyway, while another blasted car culture with a brutal “vroom vroom” jab. A third camp hammered accountability: if a robot kills someone, who takes the fall—company, coder, or car? Cue the “Do you sue the bot or the suit?” memes.
There’s also a raw “math vs feelings” clash. Some argue fewer total deaths is worth it, but others say a machine-caused fatality hits different—and the US already shrugs off daily pedestrian deaths from giant trucks, so spare us the lectures. The ghost of Cruise’s scandal hovered over the thread, with folks warning that secrecy kills trust. When Mawakana said they plan for “when,” not “if,” critics heard corporate inevitability; fans heard honesty. Either way, the comment section demanded receipts, not vibes—and possibly a robot DUI law.
Key Points
- •Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said society will accept a future robotaxi-caused fatality if companies uphold high safety standards.
- •She emphasized transparency, urging publication of crash and performance data, and cited Waymo’s safety information hub.
- •Mawakana stated self-driving cars can reduce crashes but will not achieve perfection, calling for honest public dialogue.
- •Waymo plans for potential fatal incidents and routinely pulls back and retests, including addressing issues like blocking emergency vehicles.
- •She criticized competitors, including Tesla, saying they do not meet transparency standards necessary to make roads safer.