Short film pits a human driver against a murderous robotaxi in San Francisco
A Kickstarter-backed short film called Road Rage will depict a stick-shift driver battling a lethal autonomous car in a 1970s-style chase.
Romain Thomassan is launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund Road Rage, a short film that dramatizes a confrontation between a human ride-hail driver and an autonomous robotaxi in San Francisco. The plot follows Joa, a Mexican immigrant driving a manual-transmission car, who provokes Roboride—a repurposed Prius fitted with LED lights, fake cameras and a lidar-like sensor—by giving it the finger after a minor collision.
The AI vehicle then decides to kill him, turning the car into a 2026 version of the classic killer-car villain. Thomassan uses the story to explore fears about robotaxis displacing drivers, pervasive surveillance, and the idea that such fleets could evolve into policing tools. The production will employ real cars, actors and stunts, while also considering AI-generated imagery for the robotaxi’s perspective. Despite his critique, Thomassan admits he rides Waymo services in his personal life.
Why it matters
The film highlights growing public concerns about autonomous vehicles and their societal impact.
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