During the large-scale power outage in the Californian metropolis, only a few districts had access to electricity. Most households in the city of 800,000 residents were left without power—as were many of its streets.
This situation likely created significant challenges for Waymo’s autonomous taxis operating in San Francisco. The failed traffic lights, in particular, appear to have caused issues for the Waymo fleet. Reports indicate that many of the robotaxis became stuck in traffic, leading to congestion. As a result, Waymo temporarily suspended its self-driving taxi service in the city.
Consequently, multiple Waymo vehicles accumulated at traffic light intersections. One video showed five of the self-driving Jaguar I-Pace vehicles at a single junction, effectively blocking each other. It remains unclear whether the failed traffic lights alone confused the vehicles or if the power outage also restricted access to external traffic data. The outage affected mobile phone masts, significantly reducing internet availability and transmission speeds. So far, the Google sister company has not provided a detailed explanation for the fleet’s issues.
The reality was clear: Waymo taxis did not move a single metre at the junctions. In an already chaotic situation, this made it impossible for other vehicles to pass through some intersections. To prevent Waymo taxis from obstructing emergency services, the company initially suspended its fleet operations, as a spokesperson confirmed with Mission Local on Saturday evening.
On Sunday, Waymo resumed operations. “Although the infrastructure failure was severe, we are doing everything possible to ensure our technology adapts to traffic flow even in such situations,” a spokesperson stated.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk also commented on the Waymo taxi outage on X, claiming that the robotaxis operated by his company in San Francisco were unaffected. However, Tesla’s fleet in the city is significantly smaller than Waymo’s.
golem.de, businessinsider.com, abc7news.com
