\n<\/p>\n
The latest expansion<\/a> to Grand Theft Auto Online includes robotaxis from a fictional-yet-familiar company dubbed \u201cKnoWay,\u201d whose sole purpose appears to be wreaking havoc.<\/p>\n A trailer<\/a> released Friday shows KnoWay vans adorned with lidar sensors swerving through city streets, wrecking other cars, and crashing through a billboard for the made up company. <\/p>\n While that\u2019s all far more chaotic and destructive than even some of the worst behavior that Waymo\u2019s robotaxis have been guilty of, the in-game autonomous vehicles nonetheless resemble the company\u2019s earlier-generation Chrysler Pacifica vans. The expansion is called \u201cA Safehouse in the Hills\u201d and is available starting December 10.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear if the vans in the trailer have been, in true Grand Theft Auto fashion, hijacked by playable characters, or if they\u2019ve gone rogue. It seems likely it\u2019s the latter, though, as Rockstar Games says players will be encouraged to \u201cstop the development of a mass surveillance network in an all-new action-packed adventure\u201d as part of the DLC. (The trailer also teases a storyline that involves an AI assistant named \u201cHaviland,\u201d so the tech world in general appears to be a part of this particular storyline.)<\/p>\n Waymo has said it will deny government requests for the footage its vehicles capture if those requests are \u201coverly broad and unlawful.\u201d But its robotaxis have nevertheless drawn criticism for being part of a growing surveillance state. That frustration has contributed to the company\u2019s vehicles becoming a target of multiple instances of vandalism. Waymo SUVs have been burned, smashed, and had their tires slashed<\/a> in different cities over the last few years.<\/p>\n Rockstar is clearly tapping into those same dynamics here, as the tagline\u00a0for KnoWay\u2019s \u201cautonomous hailing system\u201d in the game is: \u201cWe Kno where you\u2019re going.\u201d It\u2019s not hard to imagine some players of the DLC taking some of their frustrations out on the virtual vehicles once the update is released later this month.<\/p>\n Waymo declined to comment. <\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> At TechCrunch Disrupt in October, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana spoke out<\/a> against the vandalism, saying her company was \u201cvery focused on working with law enforcement to make sure that we pursue the people who are committing these crimes against our fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n