'Is This Car Hacked?': Viral Video Shows a Man Trapped in a Circling Waymo Driverless Taxi The video, which was posted to LinkedIn, has more than two million views and interactions.
By Erin Davis
Mike Johns works as an AI consultant, so he knows technology and everything it can do to improve our lives — or make you so dizzy you might get sick.
The Los Angeles resident was trying to get back to California from Scottsdale, Arizona, last week and took a Waymo driverless taxi to the airport. However, he barely made it because the self-driving car wouldn't stop driving in circles.
"Ok, why is this happening to me on a Monday," Johns's viral video begins as the car connects with customer support in the background. "Why is this thing going in circles, I'm getting dizzy!"
Johns, who is talking in the video from the backseat of the car, takes viewers on a head-spinning ride, writing, "This autonomous vehicle said to heck with GPS" and went in eight circles.
"Is someone pulling a prank, is this car hacked?" he asked.
A Waymo representative got the car back online and Johns made it to the airport, though he says he "nearly" missed his flight.
Johns told CNN that he chose Waymo over Lyft or Uber because he works in the technology industry.
"It's the future of where things are going, so I'm definitely a part of that," he told the outlet, adding that he wouldn't rule out using the service again.
Waymo told CNN in an email that it attempted to contact Johns and left a voicemail.
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In October, Waymo announced that it raised $5.6 billion, led by parent company Alphabet, with "continued participation" from Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price.
"Customers love Waymo, said Chase Coleman, founder of Tiger Global, at the time. "The company has built the safest product in the autonomous vehicle ecosystem as well as the best."
