New “KnoWay” robot taxis wreak havoc in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto Online DLC

The latest extension Grand Theft Auto Online features robotaxis from a fictional but well-known company called “KnoWay”, whose sole purpose seems to be to wreak havoc.

A caravan released Friday shows KnoWay trucks decked out in lidar sensors careening through city streets, destroying other cars and crashing into a billboard for the engineered company.

While all of this is far more chaotic and destructive than even some of the worst behavior Waymo’s robotaxis have suffered, the in-game autonomous vehicles nonetheless resemble the company’s older-generation Chrysler Pacifica trucks. The expansion is called “A Safehouse in the Hills” and is available from December 10th.

It’s unclear if the trucks in the trailer have, in true Grand Theft Auto fashion, been hijacked by playable characters or if they’ve gone rogue. It seems likely to be the latter, however, as Rockstar Games says players will be encouraged to “stop the deployment of a mass surveillance network in an all-new action-packed adventure” as part of the DLC. (The trailer also teases a story involving an AI assistant named “Haviland,” so the tech world in general seems to be part of that particular story.)

Waymo has said it will deny government requests for video taken by its vehicles if those requests are “overbroad and unlawful.” However, his robotaxi has drawn criticism for being part of a growing surveillance state. This frustration has contributed to the company’s vehicles being the target of multiple incidents of vandalism. Waymo’s SUVs have been burned, smashed and had their tires slashed in various cities in recent years.

Rockstar is clearly using the same dynamic here, as the tagline for KnoWay’s “autonomous greeting system” in the game is: “We know where you’re going.” It’s not hard to imagine some DLC players taking out some of their frustrations on the virtual vehicles once the update rolls out later this month.

Waymo declined to comment.

At TechCrunch Disrupt in October, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana spoke out against the vandalism, saying her company “is focused on working with law enforcement to make sure we go after the people who commit these crimes against our fleet.”