--- title: "Waymo Haunted by Killing of Beloved Neighborhood Cat" description: "A San Francisco city leader is launching a campaign to rein in driverless cars after a Waymo killed a beloved pet in her community." date: "2025-11-05" modified: "2025-11-05" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/waymo-regulation-beloved-cat" categories: - "Future Society" --- # Waymo Haunted by Killing of Beloved Neighborhood Cat ![A San Francisco city leader is launching a campaign to rein in driverless cars after a Waymo killed a beloved pet in her community.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images* If years of [activist campaigns](), [political lobbying](), and [vandalism]() couldn't slow Waymo's roll, the horrific death of a beloved neighborhood kitty just might. A tabby cat named KitKat has become a cause célèbre for driverless car regulation in California after a [Waymo ran him down]() last week, leaving the neighborhood heartbroken. According [to the ]()*[San Francisco Chronicle]()*, the death and ensuing community backlash has inspired district supervisor Jackie Fielder to appeal to the governor and state regulators to reconsider who has the final say on autonomous ride-hail vehicles. Fielder's push is apparently inspired by a dead bill in state Senate that would shift authority over driverless cars to municipal authorities, effectively giving local residents a more direct say in what is and isn't allowed on their streets. Per the *Chronicle*, the local leader is tying KitKat's death into a broader campaign against autonomous vehicles, which includes concerns about [congestion](), [noise](), [data privacy](), and [weakened public transit](). "Here in the Mission \[district\], we will never forget our sweet KitKat, we will always put community before tech oligarchs," Fielder said in an [Instagram reel](). "AVs \[autonomous vehicles\] collect endless amounts of data on us and from a road ridership struggling for public transportation, contribute to traffic congestion, and also drive harmful mining practices in the Global South." The district supervisor held a [press conference]() on Tuesday at Randa's Market, the corner store KitKat called home, to announce a resolution she's introducing to the San Francisco board of directors. If successful, the resolution would issue an official call to state legislators to allow municipal voters to have the final say. https://www.instagram.com/randasmarket/reel/DQpeMCqksTZ/?hl=en "If I were the Waymo PR team, I would be hoping that this whole KitKat thing just dies, and that's not happening," Fielder said. When driverless cars like Waymo were first unleashed on US roads, they did so largely without the say of residents who would be forced to share the streets with the for-profit experiments. In California, for example, Governor Gavin Newsom — a [longtime ally]() to big tech companies — helped [lobby state politicians]() to fast-track the approval of driverless cars, going over the heads of [local lawmakers]() in cities like San Francisco. Fielder's challenge to state lawmakers will likely face fierce opposition from politicians like Newsom, who've made their bones on [cozy relationships]() with the tech industry's biggest players. **More on Waymo:** *[Waymo CEO Says Society Is Ready for One of Its Cars to Kill Someone]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()