The Minneapolis City Council narrowly passed an ordinance Thursday that would require a human operator and a special license for all autonomous vehicles operating in the city, a measure that drew national attention after one council member defended it by citing cats allegedly killed by self-driving cars.
Council Member Jason Chavez told his colleagues he had just watched disturbing footage before the vote. “I will say cats have been killed and cats have been killed by these autonomous vehicles,” Chavez said. “I have a cat, I don’t want my cat getting killed because of these autonomous vehicles so to those cat lovers out there, just know that these Waymo vehicles, these autonomous vehicles have killed cats and that’s unfair. I just watched a video sitting here from the dais and it was really hard to watch. Literally cats being murdered by these vehicles.”
Despite passing the council, the ordinance’s future is uncertain. Mayor Jacob Frey has said he intends to veto it, telling Minnesota outlets the measure “doesn’t make sense” and that the city intends to keep pursuing “innovative technology,” including new transportation options. Frey said he would not support what he called a “backdoor ban” on the vehicles, even while acknowledging safety concerns raised by council members.
A Debate Over Safety, Jobs and Fares
Waymo’s driverless vehicles, identifiable by their rooftop sensors and empty seats, have become increasingly common on Minneapolis streets. Supporters of the ordinance argue that requiring a human operator would effectively end autonomous taxi service in the city and push fares higher. Opponents of the vehicles counter that the technology creates real safety risks and threatens driving jobs.
Online Reaction
Chavez’s remarks about cats being “murdered” quickly circulated on social media, where critics accused him of focusing on a minor issue while other city problems go unaddressed.
“The Minneapolis City Council wants to require a human in driverless vehicles because cats are being ‘murdered’ by them. This guy’s salary is $110,000/year, by the way,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage wrote on X.
Grage followed up with additional posts, including “They’re calling it the cat genocide” and “Hide your cats. The Waymos are coming.”
Conservative commentator Gunther Eagleman also weighed in, writing, “LOL! MINNEAPOLIS HAS FOUND ITS REAL CRISIS, AND IT’S ROBOT CARS ‘MURDERING’ CATS.” In a separate post, Eagleman argued the council’s focus was misplaced given the city’s other challenges: “A council member in a city that let rioters burn down a police precinct and watched a $250 million fraud scheme happen under its nose now wants a human in every driverless car to protect the cats. He’s pulling down $110,000 a year of taxpayer money to say this with a straight face. Minneapolis doesn’t have a driverless car problem. It has a leadership problem.”
Fox News Digital columnist David Marcus posted, “They’re driving over the cats, they’re driving over the dogs!” Three Rivers Park Commissioner Jennifer DeJournett questioned the councilman’s pay relative to the city’s affordability problems, writing on X, “Why is a city council member making 110,000 when families and seniors are getting priced out of their homes in Minneapolis and taxes are sky rocking????? That’s absurd – where is the equality in that???”
Not everyone dismissed the concern about animal safety outright. Journalist Zaid Jilani wrote that he had been in a self-driving Tesla that stopped for cats crossing the road, adding that Waymo’s technology is more advanced. Sean Stapleton, CEO and co-founder of Dealer Teamwork, wrote that his Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system avoids animals on the road, saying of Chavez’s claim, “He is full of it.”
Fox News Digital reported that it reached out to Chavez for comment.
