Autonomous vehicle company Waymo is facing mounting scrutiny as critics express concerns over passengers’ physical safety and possible espionage risks.
Waymo recently issued a recall for 3,791 vehicles after one of its robotaxis failed to come to a complete stop after encountering flood conditions on a high-speed roadway, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The agency issued an acknowledgment of the recall on May 11, outlining the issues with the vehicles.
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority. We have identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways, and have made the decision to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to this scenario,” a Waymo spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“We are working to implement additional software safeguards and have put mitigations in place, including refining our extreme weather operations during periods of intense rain, limiting access to areas where flash flooding might occur.”
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The NHTSA’s letter states that Waymo was recalling “certain 5th and 6th Generation Automated Driving Systems (ADS), as the “software may allow the vehicle to slow and then drive into standing water on higher speed roadways.” The agency warned that robotaxis entering a flooded roadway could cause loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
“They’re testing these in real-life situations, and they’re also putting American lives at risk. When you’re talking about pedestrians, when you’re talking about these flood issues, you know, if you’re in one of these Waymos, you’re totally dependent on whatever AI program that they’ve instituted to be able to navigate you safely out of there,” a source close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital.
Last month, Waymo temporarily suspended operations in San Antonio after one of its vehicles entered a flooded roadway and was swept away, KTBC reported at the time, citing a Waymo spokesperson. The vehicle involved in the incident was unoccupied.
“They don’t know how to deal with these situations, they haven’t been programmed for it, they haven’t been tested for it and they’re doing real life experimentation on the streets of America,” the source said.
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As an interim remedy, Waymo, which operates thousands of vehicles across the U.S., made changes to vehicle operations to enhance weather-related constraints and update its maps, according to the NHTSA. The agency said that all vehicles had received the update by April 20.
The source told Fox News Digital that Waymo vehicles present dangers beyond physical injury to passengers and pedestrians; the company could pose national security threats. The Waymo Ojai, the source pointed out, is produced by Chinese automaker Zeekr.
Waymo formed a partnership with Zeekr in 2021, one year before the company showed a robotaxi based on a version of Zeekr’s SEA-M, TechCrunch reported. The outlet added that the prototype did not feature a steering wheel, something the Waymo Ojai has.
“There’s no reason to not think that with these cars that are now being rushed to market in so many major American cities that the electronic components which all have cameras in them, they all have audio in them, they’re all being recorded all the time, are not susceptible to foreign manipulation,” the source told Fox News Digital.
The source said that the Trump administration is “cognizant of the vulnerabilities to foreign spyware.”
In response to questions about the company’s ties to Chinese automaker Zeekr, a Waymo spokesperson said, “The technology that collects data and makes our vehicles autonomous—the software, sensors, and computing systems—is developed and installed by Waymo in America.”
“Waymo strongly supports the Department of Commerce’s BIS connected vehicle rule, which addresses national security risks from foreign AV technology, including both software and hardware. Waymo is committed to furthering our own – and America’s – leadership in the development and deployment of the critical automated driving technologies,” the spokesperson added.
The scrutiny surrounding Waymo’s foreign ties comes as the Trump administration ramps up its focus on China-linked technology and supply chains amid President Donald Trump’s high-stakes trip to Beijing.
Whether the incidents involving Waymo vehicles prompt further regulatory action remains to be seen, but they have already raised questions about whether autonomous technology is ready for real-world conditions, and how China-linked supply chains could factor into its expansion.
Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
