Waymo, the leading autonomous driving technology company, has been forced to suspend its driverless ride-hailing service in San Francisco following a major incident during a citywide power failure. The company's fleet of robotaxis reportedly caused significant traffic disruption after becoming confused at intersections with non-functioning traffic lights.
Chaos on the Streets During Blackout
The problems began on Saturday, 21 December 2025, during a substantial power cut that affected approximately 125,000 homes and businesses across the city. According to reports from Mission Local, the outage originated from an issue at a substation located at 8th Street and Mission Street.
With traffic lights out across numerous neighbourhoods, Waymo's autonomous vehicles were left unable to navigate normally. Many cars came to a complete halt in the middle of roads, creating bottlenecks and major traffic jams. Local residents quickly took to social media to share images and videos of the stalled driverless cars, with long lines of frustrated human drivers backed up behind them.
Social Media Reaction and Company Response
One user on X posted a video of the immobilised vehicles with the caption, "Power outage took out the waymos RIP." Another user noted seeing six Waymo vehicles parked at a single broken traffic light, blocking the road, and questioned whether the AI had been trained for such scenarios.
In response, Waymo announced a temporary suspension of its service in the San Francisco Bay Area, effective from 8 p.m. on Saturday. A company spokesperson told The Independent on Sunday morning: "We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services in the San Francisco Bay Area due to the widespread power outage. Our teams are working diligently and in close coordination with city officials to monitor infrastructure stability, and we are hopeful to bring our services back online soon."
Restoration Efforts and Ongoing Uncertainty
Energy supplier Pacific Gas & Electric Co. provided an update late on Saturday, stating that power had been restored to about 95,000 customers. Crews worked through the night to address the remaining 35,000 outages. The company confirmed there were no injuries resulting from the power cut.
As of Sunday, it remains unclear precisely when Waymo will resume its driverless taxi operations in the city. The company has asked for the public's patience, stating further updates will be provided when available. This incident highlights a significant challenge for the future of autonomous vehicle deployment: ensuring robust performance during unexpected infrastructure failures.
