Electric vehicles are usually silent, but not the Waymos of Santa Monica, California.
The nation’s leading robotaxi company is in a standoff with that city after residents complained of nonstop beeping as the vehicles moved about the company’s charging site.
“It’s one of the most annoying noises I can think of,” a neighbor named Brian May told the TV station KTLA 5.
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On Nov. 18, the city council unanimously approved a resolution to bar the site from operation between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. — a measure that would kneecap Waymo in the Los Angeles metro area, one of its leading markets. The company has refused, and it’s unclear whether the city has the grounds to force the closure.
