5,000 Chinese-built Waymo vans arrive in U.S. amid spy risk concerns
A former federal safety adviser urges an independent audit of the vehicles after lawmakers introduced a bill to ban them.
By Jason Lee ·
Missy Cummings, a former senior safety adviser at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, warned this week that the new Waymo Ojai robotaxis pose a national security risk. Cummings, who now researches autonomous vehicles at George Mason University, stated that the Chinese-built vehicles could be exploited to spy on Americans.
"These cars are just inherent spying devices," Cummings said on the latest episode of Generation AI. She called for an independent investigation to determine if the vehicles contain hidden surveillance technology or security vulnerabilities that foreign adversaries could exploit.
The Ojai vans differ from Waymo’s standard fleet. While the company’s Jaguar SUVs are manufactured in Austria, the boxy blue Ojai vehicles are built in China by automaker Zeekr. Waymo asserts that the vans arrive in the United States without connected-car technology. The company then installs its own cameras, sensors, and self-driving systems at a facility in Mesa, Arizona.
Waymo maintains that its vehicles undergo rigorous security testing to protect trade secrets. The company states it does not share personally identifiable rider information, vehicle telemetry, or autonomous driving data with vehicle manufacturers. Cummings argues these assurances are insufficient without external verification.
"I think that we need an independent third party, probably a government agency, to go in and take a look and see if that is indeed true," Cummings said. Research firm MoffettNathanson estimates Waymo is on pace to import approximately 5,000 Ojai vehicles this year, a number exceeding its existing fleet.
Cummings explained that robotaxis continuously collect information through cameras and sensors. This data could reveal sensitive details about passengers or the location of secure government sites, such as military bases. She noted that vehicles traveling near military installations might collect information on traffic patterns or personnel movement. She also acknowledged the theoretical possibility of a remote compromise, where a vehicle could be taken over and turned into a weapon, though she considers that risk smaller than the threat of foreign surveillance.
Legislators in Congress have introduced the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Sens. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., would ban vehicles built in China, even when the self-driving systems are American. The bill cleared the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously in July. Cummings said she is not generally a fan of bans, fearing they might throw the baby out with the bathwater. She suggested that strong technical oversight, perhaps by federally funded research centers like MIT Lincoln Laboratory, would be more effective than a blanket prohibition.
Analysts estimate a completed Ojai costs Waymo approximately $100,000, compared with roughly $200,000 for its Jaguar vehicles. Cummings noted that some support for the ban stems from economic interests and a strong lobby in the American automotive sector. She advised robotaxi passengers to assume their data is being recorded, stating that riders should never talk about anything they would not be willing to see on the Internet.
Source: KTVK
