Archive · 28 Dec 2025
Waymo's San Francisco Outage Raises Robotaxi Safety Concerns
A big power outage in San Francisco on December 20 caused Waymo's robotaxis to stop working and block traffic.
This happened because the power outage made the traffic lights stop working, and the robotaxis needed to ask for help.
Experts say this shows that robotaxis need better rules to handle big emergencies like earthquakes.
Waymo says they are working to improve their system.
The people in charge of making rules are looking into what happened to make sure it doesn't happen again.
A power outage in San Francisco on December 20 caused Waymo robotaxis to stall and block traffic.
The outage was due to a fire at a PG&E substation, affecting one-third of the city.
Experts are calling for stricter regulations on robotaxis to handle emergencies better.
Waymo is implementing fleet-wide updates to improve their response to power outages.
California regulators are investigating the incident to ensure safety and accountability.
- Who
- Waymo, California regulators, experts
- What
- Widespread power outage causing Waymo robotaxis to stall and snarl traffic
- When
- December 20
- Where
- San Francisco
- Why
- Fire at a PG&E substation knocked out power, leading to non-operational traffic signals and robotaxis requesting confirmation checks
- Date of Incident
- December 20
- Cause of Outage
- Fire at a PG&E substation
- Affected Area
- One-third of San Francisco
- Waymo's Response
- Halted operations, resumed next day
- Regulatory Bodies Involved
- California DMV and CPUC
- Waymo's Fleet Size
- Over 2,500 vehicles
- Operating Areas
- San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Metro Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta
