The San Jose Chamber of Commerce’s annual barbecue is always the see-and-be-seen event of the year for the city’s business community. But the big star everyone’s going to want a selfie with won’t be a CEO or a politician — but a car.
Waymo will have one of its self-driving vehicles on display at the Aug. 21 soiree at History Park in San Jose, in advance of the Mountain View company starting service in the Bay Area’s largest city.
The California Public Utilities Commission gave the green light for Waymo to begin offering passenger service in May, and the autonomous cars — with people behind the wheel — have been spotted on San Jose streets, but no service date has been announced yet.
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“It’s about time autonomous vehicles rolled into San Jose,” Mayor Matt Mahan said back in May. “For decades, our region has shaped the future — and now, the ride to work is as forward-thinking as the breakthroughs happening at the office.”
It would be fun to see the vehicle taking folks on trips around History Park, but it’ll probably be stationary. If you do want the chance to check out the Waymo vehicles up close, though, you’d better act fast. Ticket sales for the barbecue, presented by Sutter Health and sponsored by a bevy of other companies (including Mountain View-based Waymo), wrap up this week.
Go to www.sjchamber.com/chamber-bbq for more details.