A Los Angeles tech entrepreneur, Mike Johns, recently found himself missing a flight after becoming trapped in an endlessly circling Waymo car while heading to the airport. According to Johns, the vehicle wouldn’t stop circling a parking lot, prompting him to record a video of his frustrated call to Waymo's customer service.

“I got a flight to catch. Why is this thing going in a circle? I’m getting dizzy,” he exclaimed during the call. He further mentioned, “It’s circling around a parking lot. I can’t get out of the car. Has this been hacked? What’s going on?” Despite the representative's attempts to manually pull the car over through the app, the vehicle continued its circuitous path.

Johns was returning home from Scottsdale, Arizona, and managed to nearly catch his flight at the last moment, according to reports from CBS. Frustrated, he noted on social media that Waymo had not contacted him post-incident, stating, “You’d think by now Waymo would email, text, or call for a follow-up,” criticizing the automated customer service system of the company.

Waymo did not provide an immediate response regarding the incident. Over the years, the company has introduced its robotaxis on streets in San Francisco and launched them in Los Angeles last fall. With an ambition to enhance road safety through its autonomous driving technology, it has received praise for being a reliable alternative to human drivers. However, there have been ongoing issues with technical glitches and safety risks during the rollout of these automated vehicles.

Recently, an alarming incident occurred where a man in downtown Los Angeles reportedly tried to hijack a Waymo vehicle, which ended with police intervention. Further adding to the challenges, some riders have reported harassment by pedestrians obstructing the vehicle's path and stalling its movement.