GTA 6 is anything but guaranteed to be a legendary parody of this 2026 trend

The Grand Theft Auto comics have always been at the forefront of satirizing modern America. Between the various brand parodies in Grand Theft Auto universe and the caricatures of prominent celebrities and personalities, Rockstar doesn't hold back in creating their unbeatable parallel version of American culture. Grand Theft Auto 6 looks to be no different, and one of 2026's biggest trends in the transportation industry seems likely to be in the crosshairs of the upcoming open-world sandbox game.

So far, Grand Theft Auto 6 makes it clear that parodies of influencer culture, as well as stereotypical “Florida Man” behavior, will be important parts of this post's version of Vice City, itself a parody of the real-life city of Miami, Florida. GTA 6 trailers have already shown TikTokers wrestling alligators, references to existing viral meme videos, and Vice City's party culture. When it comes to automotive parodies, GTA 6 hasn't shown many new additions, but leaning into the rise of self-driving taxis like Waymo cars seems ripe for a legendary Grand Theft Auto-style parody.

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Self-driving Waymo taxis are perfect parody targets for GTA 6

The rise of cars with self-driving capabilities has been a major trend in the automotive and transportation industry, with manufacturers like Tesla leading the charge. While Tesla cars have the option of hands-off driving while the driver is still present, Waymo has taken things a step further and created a system of self-driving taxis that do not require a driver to control them. While Waymos have been convenient and novel ways to get transportation in the cities where they are available, they are not without problems, making them ideal candidates for Grand Theft Auto 6 parodies and satire.

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Scratch & Peek

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Taxis are a central part of Grand Theft Auto's fast travel system

GTA: Vice City — Introduced taxifast travel for restart missions
GTA 4 — Made taxis available at any time for quick travel
GTA 5 — Streamlined taxi fast trips

Taxis have been present in Grand Theft Auto game since the very first entry, although they are usually available as cars to steal and are associated with various taxi missions such as GTA players can use to earn money. But taxis became a method of quick travel that Grand Theft Auto series continued and first began as a way to quickly travel back to missions after failure or death in the GTA: Vice City. GTA 4 expanded the taxi service as a complete fast travel system that Niko could take anywhere in Liberty City simply by calling Roman and asking for a taxi. GTA 5 followed up on this mechanic by giving players access to a ride service from their phone to quickly travel around Los Santos.

How self-driving taxis can form the basis of fun side missions

Although taxis have been spotted among the vehicles confirmed for GTA 6it is not clear if they will be available as a fast travel system. Parodies of Waymo self-driving cars — called something like “Slaymo” to match GTA's parody naming style — would be the perfect replacement for Vice City's traditional taxis. Besides making them available for Jason or Lucia to call for quick transport, these vehicles have enough real-world knowledge to fill a ton of GTA 6 side missions.

Having a Waymo parody in Vice City makes even more sense after the real company recently announced plans to expand the car service to the real Miami.

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For example, there have been several instances where Waymos have gathered and blocked streets for seemingly no reason, with one getting stuck and then more following the lead of the first. This could be the basis for a side mission that requires players to break into a car and gain control of it to lead the group out of the way of traffic. Waymo has also come under scrutiny for concerns that the self-driving cars could be a danger to pedestrians. As such, GTA 6s parody may have a tendency to hit pedestrians randomly, as part of GTA 6s living Vice City map, making a name like “Slaymo” more than fitting for this parody.