Last Sunday, during escalating protests against immigration raids in downtown Los Angeles, several Waymo self-driving cars were set on fire and damaged.

Waymo, a company backed by Alphabet, Google's parent company, confirmed that some of their vehicles were affected during the protests and stated they are cooperating closely with the police.

However, Waymo indicated that the protesters did not appear to have specifically targeted their vehicles.

The protests consisted of hundreds of demonstrators opposing immigration raids conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and have been ongoing for more than a day.

President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles over the weekend and criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom for the violence related to the protests.

Some White House officials described the protests as a 'violent rebellion,' using strong language.

This incident highlights an unexpected challenge in the field of autonomous vehicles.

Autonomous vehicles refer to cars that operate without human drivers, and Waymo is one of the leading companies in this field.

The National Guard refers to civilian military forces that can be mobilized by each state for emergency or violence control situations.

There is growing interest in how this incident will affect the safety and public acceptance of autonomous driving technology.