Archive · 26 Dec 2025
Waymo Updates Software After San Francisco Power Outage
Waymo, a company that makes self-driving cars, had some problems during a big power outage in San Francisco.
The outage made traffic lights go dark, and Waymo's cars didn't know what to do.
They stopped at intersections, which made traffic worse.
Waymo had to stop their service for a while and is now updating their software so their cars can handle big power outages better in the future.
They worked with city officials to manage the situation.
A power outage in San Francisco caused by a fire at a PG&E substation affected nearly one-third of the city.
Darkened traffic signals led to severe congestion, with Waymo robotaxis struggling to navigate intersections.
Waymo paused operations and worked with city officials to manage the situation.
The company is rolling out a software update to improve navigation during large-scale power outages.
Videos showed Waymo vehicles immobilized at intersections, contributing to the congestion.
- Who
- Waymo, San Francisco residents, city officials
- What
- Power outage affecting Waymo robotaxis
- When
- During a weekend outage
- Where
- San Francisco, California
- Why
- To improve robotaxi performance during power outages
- Company
- Waymo
- Cause of Outage
- Fire at PG&E substation
- Affected Area
- Nearly one-third of San Francisco
- Impact on Traffic
- Darkened traffic signals, severe congestion
- Waymo's Response
- Paused operations, deployed software update
- Update Purpose
- Improve navigation during large-scale power outages