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Waymo recalls nearly 4,000 robotaxis due to dangerous software glitch

Nypost · · 442 words · By Ben Cost
Public safety Technological Failure Corporate accountability
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/13/lifestyle/waymo-recalls-nearly-4000-robotaxis-afte…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 90% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Name Calling / Labeling 80% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

12 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 4
check_circle Corroborated 3
schedule Pending 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
cancel Disputed 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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“Waymo has recalled 3,800 autonomous taxis after identifying a bug that allowed the vehicles to drive into standing water”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (CNBC, MENA Magazine, TheStreet, Electrek) confirm the recall of approximately 3,800 robotaxis due to a software issue allowing them to drive into flooded roadways.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Genie, Genie 2 and Genie 3 are world models developed by Google DeepMind that can generate game-like, interactive virtual worlds based on text, images, or sketches. Genie 3 is accessible via Project G…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_(world_model)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Waymo LLC ( WAY-moh) is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company. As of March 2026, Wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Waymo Ojai is a battery electric robotaxi manufactured by Zeekr for Waymo since December 2024 and in service since February 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo_Ojai
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“per a letter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) website”
CORROBORATED
CNBC, MENA Magazine, and TheStreet all explicitly state that the information regarding the recall is based on a letter or documents posted on the NHTSA website.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Waymo LLC ( WAY-moh) is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company. As of March 2026, Wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — KitKat was a bodega cat from the Mission District of San Francisco who was killed by a Waymo car on October 27, 2025. Locals built altars and the death has raised comments about the safety of self-dri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KitKat_(cat)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A self-driving car, also known as an autonomous car, driverless car, robotic car or robo-car, is a car that is capable of operating with reduced or no human input. They are sometimes called robotaxis,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-driving_car
+ 4 more evidence sources
info
“the software recall applies to Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS)”
SINGLE SOURCE
Only the MENA Magazine source specifically mentions the fifth and sixth-generation automated driving systems (ADS). Other sources mention the fifth-generation system, but the specific combination of 5th and 6th is not corroborated by multiple independent sources in the provided evidence.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Waymo Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid undergoing testing in the San Francisco Bay Area (2017) Waymo LLC (/ weɪmoʊ / WAY-moh) is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain Vie…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Waymo—formerly the Google self-driving car project—makes it safe and easy for people & things to get around with autonomous vehicles. Take a ride now.
https://waymo.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 22, 2026 · Waymo autonomous vehicles date back to Google’s self-driving car project that started in 2009. As of today, you can get a ride in 11 cities across the US. It’s also available in Atlanta…
https://9to5google.com/2026/04/22/waymo-new-cities-features/
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“an incident that occurred on April 20, when a self-driving car drove into a flooded creek in San Antonio amid inclement weather and was swept away”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (Electrek, MENA Magazine, and another web search result) confirm that on April 20, an empty Waymo vehicle drove into floodwaters in San Antonio and was swept into a creek.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On March 1, 2026, a mass shooting occurred at Buford's Backyard Beer Garden on West Sixth Street in downtown Austin, Texas, United States. The perpetrator, 53-year-old naturalized US citizen, Ndiaga D…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Austin_bar_shooting
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Susman Godfrey LLP (formerly known as Susman & McGowan and Susman, Godfrey & McGowan) is an American white-shoe law firm headquartered in Houston, Texas. The firm has additional offices in New York, L…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susman_Godfrey_LLP
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Waymo LLC ( WAY-moh) is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company. As of March 2026, Wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“in Austin, Texas, cameras had reportedly caught the wonky autonomous passenger transports puttering right onto a flooded street and coming to a halt”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result explicitly mentions that Waymo vehicles were caught on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling in Austin, Texas. No other independent source corroborates this specific Austin incident.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — After Waymo's autonomous taxis drove through flooded streets, the manufacturer has updated the software on almost 3800 of them to prevent this in the future. The manufacturer has informed the US traff…
https://www.heise.de/en/news/Drove-onto-flooded-streets-Waym…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In Austin, Texas, Waymo autonomous vehicles were recently spotted on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling. This left the vehicles stranded, which forced other human drivers to navigate ar…
https://attackofthefanboy.com/auto/waymo-recalls-3800-robota…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Waymo Carcraft is a virtual world in which Waymo simulates driving conditions.[190][191] The simulator was named after the video game World of Warcraft.[190][191] With Carcraft, 25,000 virtual self-dr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo
info
“Waymo narrowed its operating scope to bolster weather-related safeguards and updated maps”
SINGLE SOURCE
While sources confirm the recall and the reason (flooding), there is no specific evidence in the provided text stating that Waymo 'narrowed its operating scope' specifically to bolster safeguards and update maps.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — As of March 2026[update], Waymo operates public commercial robotaxi services in 10 US metropolitan areas, has 3,000 robotaxis in service, provides 500,000 paid rides per week and had logged 200 millio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Waymo is recalling software in thousands of its driverless taxis that could allow the vehicles to drive into flooded roadways, according to a letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/us/waymo-recall-robotaxis…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Waymo—formerly the Google self-driving car project—makes it safe and easy for people & things to get around with autonomous vehicles. Take a ride now.Making it safer, more accessible, and more sustain…
https://waymo.com/
verified
“These changes were instituted on April 20.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
There is no evidence in the provided results stating that operating scope changes or map updates were instituted on April 20; only the San Antonio incident is linked to that date.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Genie, Genie 2 and Genie 3 are world models developed by Google DeepMind that can generate game-like, interactive virtual worlds based on text, images, or sketches. Genie 3 is accessible via Project G…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_(world_model)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tekedra Nzinga Mawakana (formerly Jefferson; née McGee; born 1971) is an American businesswoman and lawyer and is the co-chief executive officer of Waymo. Previously, she was the company's chief opera…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekedra_Mawakana
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Waymo LLC ( WAY-moh) is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company. As of March 2026, Wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“They’ve also temporarily suspended their robo-taxi operations in San Antonio.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence mentions the incident in San Antonio and the subsequent recall, but does not explicitly state that operations in San Antonio were temporarily suspended.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Waymo Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid undergoing testing in the San Francisco Bay Area (2017) Waymo LLC (/ weɪmoʊ / WAY-moh) is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain Vie…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Waymo—formerly the Google self-driving car project—makes it safe and easy for people & things to get around with autonomous vehicles. Take a ride now.
https://waymo.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 22, 2026 · Waymo autonomous vehicles date back to Google’s self-driving car project that started in 2009. As of today, you can get a ride in 11 cities across the US. It’s also available in Atlanta…
https://9to5google.com/2026/04/22/waymo-new-cities-features/
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“which has wheels on the ground in 11 U.S. markets and is ubiquitous in cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin and Miami.”
DISPUTED
The claim states Waymo is ubiquitous in Austin and Miami. However, Wikipedia evidence for March 2026 states Waymo operates in 10 US metropolitan areas, while another web search result from April 2026 says 11 cities. There is no confirmation in the provided evidence that Miami is one of these markets.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Waymo LLC ( WAY-moh) is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company. As of March 2026, Wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jacqueline Fielder (born 1994/1995) is an American politician who serves as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for District 9, which includes the neighborhoods of the Mission District,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Fielder
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — KitKat was a bodega cat from the Mission District of San Francisco who was killed by a Waymo car on October 27, 2025. Locals built altars and the death has raised comments about the safety of self-dri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KitKat_(cat)
help
“In February, onlookers filmed the moment that Waymo cars got trapped in flood waters in Los Angeles”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results regarding Waymo cars being trapped in flood waters in Los Angeles in February.
schedule
“In 2025, meanwhile, Alphabet’s Waymo recalled more than 1,200 units in its fleet over a software bug that had the potential to make the robotic vehicles more likely to crash into gates and other obstacles.”
PENDING
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“occurred earlier this Spring at San Jose Mineta International Airport, when a rogue robotaxi sped off with a Bay Area passenger’s luggage in its trunk”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.