RobotRisk Autonomous Systems Incident & Risk Register
RobotRisk / Waymo / 2025-10
av trucking · malfunction

Waymo robotaxi perception blind spot led to killing of cat 'Kit Kat'

S1 · 10/2025 · Waymo · San Francisco, CA, USA

Record

CompanyWaymo
Categoryav trucking
Typemalfunction
Date10/2025
Time of daynot documented
LocationSan Francisco, CA, USA
SeverityS1 (near-miss / disclosed vulnerability)
Scale-
Confidencemedium
VerificationYes - adversarially checked against the cited source
SourceThe New York Times

What happened

Video investigation showed a perception blind spot in a Waymo robotaxi that struck and killed a cat named Kit Kat in San Francisco.

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Comparable malfunction events in av trucking

SevDateCompanyEvent
S12026-07-04WaymoWaymo drives into live fireworks display, alarming passengers
S22026-07TeslaTesla robotaxi drives wrong-way in Tampa
S12026-04AvrideAvride autonomous vehicle strikes and kills a duck in Austin, prompting testing pause
S22026-03-16ZooxNHTSA logs 123 Zoox autonomous-mode accidents cumulative
S22026-01WaymoWaymo Robotaxi Enters Phoenix Light-Rail Tracks as Train Approaches
S22025-12-08WaymoWaymo Robotaxi Transports Undetected Man Trapped in Trunk in Los Angeles
S12025-12TeslaOptimus falls backward and collapses during Miami 'Autonomy Visualized' demo
S22025-10-27WaymoWaymo robotaxi strikes and kills bodega cat 'KitKat' in San Francisco

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