Waymo’s driverless robotaxis created chaos by stalling in the middle of San Francisco streets during a massive power outage, exposing the dangerous flaws of pushing unproven autonomous technology onto American roads.
Story Highlights
Waymo robotaxis froze in traffic during San Francisco blackout affecting 130,000 customers
Multiple driverless vehicles stopped in street intersections, creating additional gridlock
Tesla’s human-supervised service remained operational during the same outage
MIT expert warns cities aren’t ready for widespread autonomous vehicle deployment
Robotaxis Create Additional Chaos During Infrastructure Crisis
Waymo temporarily suspended its driverless robotaxi service in San Francisco after its autonomous vehicles malfunctioned during widespread power outages on Saturday, December 20, 2025. The company’s self-driving cars became additional obstacles in city streets as residents witnessed multiple Waymo vehicles stopping in the middle of intersections and roadways. San Francisco resident Matt Schoolfield documented at least three stalled Waymo vehicles between 6 p.m. and 9:45 p.m., telling reporters “they were just stopping in the middle of the street.”
Bad look for Waymo. Lots of reports out of SF where the power outage caused its robotaxis to stop in traffic, causing jams.
On the other side, the Tesla robotaxi fleet (& personal FSD users) continued the service without hiccups.
Pacific Gas and Electric reported the outages began at 1:09 p.m. Saturday, peaking with approximately 130,000 affected customers due to a substation fire causing “significant and extensive” damage. Waymo spokesperson Suzanne Philion acknowledged their technology struggled with the crisis, explaining that while their system treats non-functional signals as four-way stops, “the sheer scale of the outage led to instances where vehicles remained stationary longer than usual.” This admission reveals concerning limitations in autonomous vehicle readiness for predictable infrastructure challenges.
Tesla’s Human-Supervised Approach Proves Superior
Tesla CEO Elon Musk highlighted the stark contrast between approaches, posting on X that “Tesla Robotaxis were unaffected by the SF power outage.” Tesla’s ride-hailing service maintains human drivers behind the wheel at all times, using their “FSD (Supervised)” system rather than fully autonomous operation. While Tesla lacks permits for driverless testing in California, their human-supervised model demonstrated reliability during the crisis when Waymo’s purely autonomous vehicles failed. This outcome validates concerns about rushing untested technology into public use without adequate safety measures.
Expert Warns Against Premature Autonomous Vehicle Deployment
MIT transportation researcher Bryan Reimer criticized the incident as evidence that cities aren’t prepared for widespread autonomous vehicle adoption. Reimer stated that “something in the design and development of this technology was missed,” emphasizing that power outages are “entirely predictable” events. He advocates for mixing human and machine intelligence with backup systems rather than relying solely on automation. The American Automobile Association’s survey showing two-thirds of drivers fear autonomous vehicles appears validated by this real-world failure during a common infrastructure emergency.
