Waymo and Santa Monica to go to court over public nuisance claims

A nearly year-long battle between Waymo, its driverless cars, and a city and its residents will continue through 2026 after the two sides failed to reach a resolution over the noise vehicles make while looking…backing into charging spaces.

The city of Santa Monica and Waymo will go to court in the new year after failing to reach an agreement following competing lawsuits, the city said. Los Angeles Times reported this week. Both sides filed lawsuits over the use of a lot to charge driverless battery electric vehicles overnight due to repeated complaints about the cars’ headlights. electronic cry when reversing emitted by Waymo vehiclesboth of which reportedly woke up residents of neighboring houses.

Waymo opened two facilities in a Santa Monica neighborhood in January to charge 50 of its vehicles that operate in the Greater Los Angeles area. But soon after, the site began to irritate residents of nearby homes with apparent noise and flashing lights as vehicles entered and exited. A petition was quickly started, but Santa Monica officials said in April KTLA jurisdiction over noise rested not with the city, but with state agencies.

The Alphabet-owned company later said it would take steps to reduce vehicle noise and landscape the area, but last month the the city ordered Waymo and Volterracharging company partner and operator, a prohibition order to prevent vehicles from charging on site between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Last week, Waymo and Santa Monica filed competing lawsuits, with Waymo claiming its vehicles “do not constitute a public nuisance.” And after unsuccessful discussions between the parties, the case will be brought before the Superior Court of Los Angeles County sometime in 2026.

Waymo had a big year in 2025, including launching in cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Atlanta, and fending off new rivals in the robo-taxi race, including Tesla. It also obtained authorization to expand to cities outside of Los Angelesand started tests in New York. But the year ends not only with the dragging Santa Monica lawsuit, but also with a huge public relations disaster at a San Francisco citywide power outageforcing the company on Tuesday to issue a statement we will try to do better on the question.