Kyle Vogt's Bot Company is facing a lawsuit for converting an Airbnb into a robot laboratory.

      Kyle Vogt's Bot Company is facing a lawsuit for allegedly using an Airbnb property as a hidden robot lab. The host, Sean Donovan, discovered a six-foot robot prototype inside and is seeking $12,000 in damages.

      Donovan, who rents out his home in San Francisco's Portola neighborhood, claims that workers booked his property under false pretenses in April, posing as remote employees from Thailand. He is requesting $12,383 as compensation.

      What Donovan found was far from a group of digital nomads. Using his outdoor Ring camera, he saw more than 30 individuals coming and going over an 11-night period, and he overheard some discussing their “shifts,” he told SFGate.

      During a visit to take out the trash, he noticed bundles of wires leading into the house. Following the wires, he found a six-foot robot, which he described as resembling a “borg” from Star Trek or a large “Roomba with treads.” The Bot Company, which focuses on creating household chore robots, has revealed very little about its prototypes publicly.

      The damage to his property was significant. A 70-year-old family dining table was scratched and water-marked, a Franciscan pottery set went missing, a bathroom tile was chipped, a coffee table was damaged, and a mug was glued back together after breaking. Additionally, an entire shoe rack was missing. “They came in and put everything back in a new place,” Donovan shared with SFGate. “Silverware in a new drawer or a different room.”

      Vogt co-founded The Bot Company in 2024 with Paril Jain, former head of Tesla’s AI division. The startup has raised over $300 million, including a $150 million funding round led by Greenoaks, and is valued at about $2 billion, although it has disclosed very little about its products.

      Vogt’s previous venture was less successful; he was CEO of Cruise, GM’s robotaxi division, which was closed in 2024 following several safety incidents. GM incorporated the technical team and shifted focus to autonomous driving for personal vehicles.

      Testing household robots in real environments can be valid since domestic settings are messy, unpredictable, and contain breakable objects. However, conducting such tests without the consent of the property owner and under false pretenses is problematic. The lawsuit claims unauthorized commercial R&D activities, including robotic prototype testing and filming for profit.

      Other robotics companies testing in real-world environments have also faced criticism, with robotaxi operators being scrutinized for using public roads as unofficial test tracks. The Bot Company seems to have applied this approach to a private residence, resulting in significant property damage and an unintended reveal of a prototype they likely intended to remain hidden.