In between trying to become the world’s first trillionaire, expanding his defense contracting business, fighting the “woke mind virus,” feuding with Sam Altman, and overseeing half a dozen tech companies, Elon Musk has somehow found the time to wade into the debate over a tragic incident involving a rogue Waymo robotaxi.
Earlier this week in San Francisco, a beloved bodega cat was reportedly run over and killed by an autonomous vehicle—a fact the company, Waymo, appears to have admitted. The feline, named KitKat but also affectionately known as “the mayor of 16th street,” was a longtime staple of Randa’s Market in the city’s Mission neighborhood.
KitKat’s owner, Mike Zeidan, told The San Francisco Standard that his pet was hit by the robotaxi late Monday night. “Honestly, man, it’s difficult,” Zeidan said. “He was a one-of-a-kind cat. He brought joy to so many people. People loved him.”
Waymo confirmed the incident, stating, “We reviewed this, and while our vehicle was stopped to pick up passengers, a nearby cat darted under our vehicle as it was pulling away.” A company spokesperson added, “We send our deepest sympathies to the cat’s owner and the community who knew and loved him.”
On Friday, Elon Musk weighed in on the conversation by retweeting a post defending driverless cars as a potential savior, not a killer, of neighborhood pets. The original tweet by @WholeMarsBlog highlighted some sobering statistics: “5.4 million cats are hit by cars every year in the U.S., and 97 percent of those cats die from their injuries. Autonomy will dramatically reduce that number.”
Musk added his own comment: “True, many pets will be saved by autonomy.”
It’s commendable that Elon Musk took time out of his busy schedule to engage in the discourse surrounding KitKat’s unfortunate death. Considering Musk’s own ambitions to launch a robotaxi service, it’s clear he has a vested interest in this debate.
However, the truth is that we don’t yet know if autonomous cars will actually reduce the number of feline deaths on the road. The debate continues as technology and public safety evolve hand in hand.
https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-wades-into-the-debate-over-robotaxis-killing-cats-guess-which-side-hes-on-2000680234