*SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Elon Musk said that “many pets will be saved” by autonomous vehicles just a day after news broke of a beloved bodega cat being struck down by a driverless Waymo vehicle in San Francisco. The furry feline was known as KitKat and was the pet mascot of Randa's Market on 16th Street before it was mowed down by the autonomous car on Monday night. A sidewalk memorial has sprung up near the crash site, with well-wishers leaving flowers and candy underneath a picture of the much-loved cat. The owner of Randa’s Market told KTVU that he rushed the grey tabby to a veterinarian but sadly KitKat succumbed to its injuries. Waymo told later told KTVU that it had reviewed the incident and confirmed that one of the company’s vehicles hit the cat. The vehicle was carrying passengers at the time. open image in gallery KitKat was a grey tabby cat, similar to the one shown here, who was struck down by a Weymo vehicle on Monday night (Getty Images/iStockphoto) "We send our deepest sympathies to the cat’s owner and the community who knew and loved him, and we will be making a donation to a local animal rights organization in his honor," a statement from Waymo, seen by KTVU, read. Elon Musk weighed in on the incident when he replied to a post that claimed that 5.4 million cats are hit by cars every year in the U.S. The original poster claimed that “autonomy will dramatically reduce that number. open image in gallery Elon Musk said that “many pets will be saved” by autonomous vehicles just a day after news broke of a beloved bodega cat being struck down by a driverless Waymo vehicle in San Francisco (PA Archive) Musk, who has long claimed that the day driverless vehicles become available en masse is in the near future, wrote on X that “many pets will be saved by autonomy.” The tech entrepreneur claimed in July that “ half the population of the U.S.” would have access to driverless vehicles by the end of the year. His company, Tesla, has not yet developed totally autonomous vehicles but has created a mode in which the car can take over some functions independently, with supervision by a driver. open image in gallery KitKat lived at Randa’s Market with his owner, Mike Zeidan, and was described as a 'one of a kind' cat (Google Streetview)