Elon Musk faces criticism after commenting on Waymo robotaxi cat death

Elon Musk faces heat over Waymo cat comment

Elon Musk faced immediate criticism on Oct. 31, 2025, after he commented on the death of KitKat, the beloved San Francisco cat hit by a Waymo autonomous vehicle four days earlier. Musk stated on X that “many pets will be saved by autonomy,” which critics found highly insensitive.

The Waymo vehicle struck the cat late Monday night (around 11:40 p.m.) near Randa’s Market on 16th Street, according to local reports and Waymo’s statement. The public backlash added pressure to debates about the safety of self-driving software.

San Francisco officials plan new AV limits

San Francisco officials introduced a resolution urging state lawmakers to give counties the option to permit or limit AV operations.

This political action is a direct result of community anger, with local business leaders arguing that the autonomous technology was deployed without neighborhood consent. Waymo announced that it would make a donation to a local animal welfare organization.

Reports of safety driver sleeping in robotaxis

The trustworthiness of autonomous systems was further questioned in November 2025 by reports of human safety driver negligence. On Nov. 18, 2025, media coverage surfaced of a Tesla robotaxi safety monitor appearing to fall asleep during a ride, based on a rider’s video.

The passenger claimed the driver nodded off at least three times, waking only when the vehicle’s attention alert sounded. In Austin’s early rollout, safety monitors initially sat in the passenger seat with a kill switch; later trips placed the monitor in the driver’s seat for some highway segments.

Waymo plans massive growth in November 2025

Despite the backlash from the pet fatality, Waymo pushed forward with massive expansion plans in November 2025. On Nov. 18, 2025, Waymo began operating fully autonomous robotaxis in Miami, Florida, a new primary US market. Waymo announced further expansion to four more US cities for employee operations ahead of a 2026 public launch.

As of April 2025, the company was offering over 250,000 paid rides per week across its existing markets, totaling more than 1 million miles monthly, demonstrating the scale of the operation officials are attempting to regulate.

Tesla faces lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny

The negative attention surrounding Elon Musk’s comments comes as Tesla faces significant legal and regulatory pressure. A Nov. 6, 2025, court filing shows that Tesla settled a Texas case (involving a Model Y striking a stationary police vehicle) days before a Nov. 11 jury trial; Electrek characterized it as the fourth known settlement since the company’s first trial loss.

Separately, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began an investigation in October 2025 into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system over reports of Teslas driving through red traffic lights.

Previous AV incidents with animals and crashes

The KitKat incident sparked a broader discussion about the ability of autonomous vehicles to detect minor road hazards. Earlier, on Nov. 19, 2025, a report detailed three new crashes involving Tesla Robotaxis operating in Austin, Texas, bringing the known total to at least seven crashes since the service launched in late June.

One of the latest reported crashes was with an animal, according to federal filings. This specific challenge of animal detection is not new; a previous Waymo AV in San Francisco struck and killed a dog on May 21, 2023.

Robot cars judged much harder than people

People judge self-driving cars much more harshly than they judge human drivers, which is why Musk received so much criticism. Research published in September 2025 found that people tend to blame robot cars more for accidents, even when the technology is not at fault.

The study interviewed over 5,000 people and concluded that this tendency stems from comparing the robot car to an imagined “perfect human driver.” They forget that real people make mistakes all the time.

Waymo goal: 1 million rides per week by 2026

Even with public outrage, Waymo plans to expand significantly in November 2025. Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana stated that the goal is to provide approximately 1 million self-driving rides per week by the end of 2026.

To achieve this significant goal, Waymo plans to launch services in seven new cities, including London, Washington D.C., and Miami. Mawakana says driving more is the only way to prove that their robot cars are safer than human-driven ones.

Global AV expansion faces similar challenges

It is not just America facing problems, as self-driving companies worldwide are struggling to gain people’s trust. China’s WeRide company has over 1,600 self-driving cars, with nearly 750 of them being robotaxis, as of Oct. 31, 2025.

In November 2025, WeRide also became the first company to get a permit for a driverless robotaxi in Switzerland. Even with these new laws and licenses, people remain uncertain about the cars.

The trolley problem and self-driving cars

The accident involving KitKat reminds us of a challenging problem in science known as the “trolley problem.” This is a debate about who a robot car should save in a crash. Critics of Musk said he prioritized saving people over protecting all living things, including pets.

A key paper hosted by the National Institutes of Health explains that autonomous systems raise complex ethical issues, including concerns about algorithmic bias, privacy, and liability in accident scenarios.

Memorial becomes a place to protest robot cars

The sidewalk memorial for KitKat quickly turned into a place where people protested Waymo in November 2025. Waymo confirmed the cat’s death on October 30, 2025, and promised to donate money to a local animal welfare group.

Supervisor Jackie Fielder used the cat’s story to try to get a city vote to ban the self-driving cars. People at the protest used signs with slogans like, “Kill a Waymo! Save a Cat!”

Curious how self-driving tech has changed over the years? Read more in the evolution of self-driving technology in cars.

Robot car growth depends on people’s trust

The future of all self-driving cars depends on regaining the trust lost following accidents like the one involving KitKat. The global robot car market was valued at $273.75 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $4.45 trillion by 2034.

That is huge money. For this growth to occur, companies must be transparent and demonstrate how they are safer. They need to keep public trust to reach their goal of 36.3% yearly growth.

Want to see how Lucid is advancing autonomous driving? Find out that Lucid partners with Nvidia to advance self-driving technology.

Should CEOs comment on every mishap? Share your thoughts below.

Read More From This Brand:

• Are We Ready for Autonomous EVs?
• Comparing autonomous-driving features across leading brands
• Volkswagen and Uber launch autonomous EV taxi service

Don’t forget to follow us for more exclusive content right here on MSN

If you liked this story, you’ll LOVE our FREE emails. Join today and be the first to get stories like this one

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.