Update, August 18, 2026: After this filing, Santa Monica sought and a judge later issued a preliminary injunction limiting overnight work at the lots; Waymo appealed. Check the LA Superior Court docket and the Santa Monica Daily Press for the current order. A December 2025 complaint is the start of the case, not the last word.
On December 23, 2025, Waymo LLC sued the City of Santa Monica in Los Angeles County Superior Court to block a city order to stop overnight charging at two Broadway-area electric lots (reports name sites on Broadway / Euclid, run with charging partner Voltera). SMDP and The Independent reported the filing that day. Neighbors had complained about backup beepers and floodlights. The city treated overnight operations as a public nuisance. Waymo said 24/7 charging is how an electric robotaxi fleet works, and that shutting nights would cause “imminent and irreparable harm.”
This is a land-use / nuisance fight over two lots. It is not a CPUC permit to operate robotaxis in California, and it is not a Tesla story except as a preview of what happens when a robotaxi fleet parks next to apartments.
Key facts
- Who sued whom: Waymo LLC v. City of Santa Monica, filed about December 23, 2025.
- What the city wanted: No overnight charging at two Broadway-area Voltera sites after resident noise/light complaints.
- What Waymo wanted: A court order blocking that shutdown; it said the city knew the sites would run around the clock.
- What the noise is: Reverse beepers and lot lights — fleet safety/lighting, not lidar “hum” as a sci-fi plot.
- What this is not: A ban on Waymo rides in Santa Monica, or a ruling that robotaxis are illegal in California.
Why overnight charging matters
An all-electric taxi fleet that runs days needs to sit on chargers at night. If a city can turn those hours off as a nuisance, the operator either finds another lot, derates the fleet, or fights. Waymo’s complaint argued Santa Monica had permitted the investment, then used nuisance law after neighbors organized. The city argued sleep is a public interest the permit did not erase.
Tesery’s other California robotaxi legal note is a different statute: police ticketing driverless cars. The December 20 SF blackout and Tesery’s same-day Waymo stall piece are operations stories. This one is zoning and noise.
FAQ
Did Santa Monica ban Waymo taxis?
The December order targeted overnight charging at two lots, not a citywide ride ban.
Did Tesla sue Santa Monica?
No. This case is Waymo.
Is the case over?
No. Later coverage described an injunction and an appeal. Read the current docket.
For Tesla owners: a Waymo lot fight does not change FSD on your car. It does show that robotaxi scale is as much about neighbors and chargers as it is about software.
Featured photo: Santa Monica Pier (file photo of the city in the suit, not the Broadway charging lots). Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Related: Waymo stalls in the Dec. 20 SF blackout · Tesla’s FSD clip vs that blackout · California robotaxi-ticket law · Tesla’s private Robotaxi Supercharger depots
