According to a lawsuit, a multi-billion dollar robotics startup left a San Francisco apartment in the US in a deplorable state after testing a prototype robot inside, reports The Independent, according to UNN.
Details
The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, seeks more than $12,000 in damages and alleges that the startup, Bot Company, booked the owner's rental property under "false pretenses" for a two-week stay in April.
The company, which was reportedly valued at $2 billion last year, conducted "unauthorized commercial research and development activities, including testing robotic prototypes and filming for commercial purposes," the lawsuit claims.
"More than 30 people accessed the property during the rental period without permission," the lawsuit continues. "The defendant caused damage to the property, including damage to paint, floors, furniture and appliances, loss of personal property, and unauthorized access to a locked closet."
Homeowner Sean Donovan told SFGate that the people who made the booking claimed to be remote workers from Thailand.
Donovan told the publication he realized something was wrong when he visited the four-bedroom house in the Portola neighborhood to collect the guests' trash and saw a bundle of wires running into the house, where a man was allegedly sitting and typing on a laptop next to a machine that Donovan compared to the Borg from "Star Trek."
"We had a lot of work to do when we got back," he added in his interview with SFGate. "Much more than ever before."
Donovan claims his dishwasher, refrigerator, and washing machine were scratched, and the dishwasher racks were bent and removed.
The homeowner claims the startup ignored readily available options to rent the house for commercial filming or work events, for which he typically charges between $200 and $300 per hour.
Bot Company aims to create robots that will help with household chores.
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