People have reportedly been attacking Waymo autonomous vehicles in Chandler, Ariz., where the Alphabet subsidiary has been testing vans since 2017. The vehicles have been pelted with rocks and run off the road; employees have also been threatened. Police reports indicate that the company was concerned about the impact the attacks are having on its employees. (New York Times)

Talking point: Arizona is the same state where an Uber self-driving car struck and killed a pedestrian in March. Waymo says that the incidents only impact a fraction of the miles its vans log every day. On Dec. 5, 2018, the company launched a long-anticipated self-driving taxi service in a 160-kilometre zone throughout four Phoenix suburbs, including Chandler, after a decade of testing. Some analysts estimate the company’s value at around US$200 billion, which would be more than a quarter of Alphabet’s US$723-billion market cap, making Waymo Alphabet’s second most significant financial opportunity after its sister company, Google. The attacks on its vehicles, however, offer a glimpse into the intense public opposition the company may face as it rolls out its technology.