--- title: "Waymo Raises Eyebrows With Experimental Feature to “Tip” Its Driverless Cars" description: "Waymo is looking to encourage its customers to \"add a 'tip'\" — even though there's no driver behind the wheel." date: "2025-01-29" modified: "2025-01-29" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/waymo-tip-driverless-cars" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "driverless taxis" - "the digest" - "waymo" --- # Waymo Raises Eyebrows With Experimental Feature to “Tip” Its Driverless Cars ![Waymo is looking to encourage its customers to "add a 'tip'" — even though there's no driver behind the wheel.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Pro Tips Autonomous taxi service company Waymo is looking to encourage its customers to "add a 'tip'" — even though there's no driver behind the wheel. According to [leaked screenshots]() obtained by security researcher Jane Wong, the feature appeared on a screen that thanked customers for "riding with us." But as it turns out, the feature seemingly isn't designed as a way to thank a soulless Jaguar EV; it's "actually for charity donations," Wong clarified in a [follow-up](), like when point-of-sale systems let you add a small contribution to a worthy nonprofit. Still, the concept of tipping driverless vehicles still had many on social cracking jokes, as yet another illustration of the [spread of tipping fatigue](). "2025: tipping your Waymo for exemplary service," [joked]() *New York Times* columnist Kevin Roose. "2026: tipping your Waymo so it doesn’t narc on you for having sex in the back." Some users [suggested]() that Waymo is looking for a tax break by having its customers donate to a charity, but [experts have long debunked the idea](), pointing out that corporations can't count customer donations as their own. Instead, Waymo could be looking to score some PR points, given an endless stream of negative news. Just over the weekend, a Waymo cab was [trashed by a crowd]() who tore the vehicle to shreds in the middle of a Los Angeles street. And that's just a single incident. We've also come across Waymo vehicles [creating traffic jams](), getting [stuck in roundabouts](), and even [smashing into a delivery robot](). https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1884141279866675512 ## Cab Sauv Despite plenty of negative press, Waymo has quickly become the driverless taxi company to beat, operating services in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The company is also looking to [expand into Atlanta and Austin]() later this year. While the company may be looking to raise money for worthy causes, though, Waymo is still a long way from turning a profit itself. The [*New York Times* reported]() in September that Waymo was estimated to have lost around $2 billion over the first half of 2024. Apart from the tip feature, Wong also discovered that she was able to customize the display affixed to Waymo's vehicle through the accompanying smartphone app. "I hacked my Waymo into showing weird texts like empty string, ‘wongmjane,’ and emojis as the Car ID, pls don’t ban me or patch it Waymo lol," she [tweeted]() earlier this month. Unfortunately, the vulnerability was patched by Waymo three days later. "Good game, it was fun while it lasted," she wrote in a [follow-up](). **More on Waymo:** *[Furious Crowd Tears Waymo Robotaxi Limb From Limb]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()