Waymo’s autonomous robotaxis faced significant operational challenges during a widespread power outage in San Francisco on Saturday, December 21, 2025, highlighting vulnerabilities in self-driving technology when infrastructure fails. Social media footage revealed at least five Waymo vehicles stalled at intersections, creating traffic congestion and forcing human drivers to navigate around the immobilized autonomous cars.
The power outage affected approximately 130,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers across San Francisco, causing non-functioning traffic signals and widespread transit disruptions. In response to the infrastructure failure, Waymo suspended its ride-hailing services throughout the affected area on Saturday. The company resumed operations on Sunday after conditions stabilized.
A Waymo spokesperson acknowledged the incident, stating that the power outage “caused gridlock across San Francisco, with non-functioning traffic signals and transit disruptions.” The company emphasized its commitment to improving how its technology adapts to traffic flow during such extraordinary events, though the spokesperson noted that “the failure of the utility infrastructure was significant.”
The incident sparked competitive commentary from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who used the opportunity to promote his company’s competing robotaxi technology. Musk claimed on X that “Tesla Robotaxis were unaffected by the SF power outage,” highlighting the technological differences between the two autonomous vehicle approaches.
The key distinction lies in their navigation systems: Tesla robotaxis rely primarily on cameras and AI algorithms to navigate, while Waymo employs a more complex suite including light sensors (LiDAR), radar, cameras, and detailed pre-mapped data that requires regular updates. This dependency on detailed, pre-loaded maps means sudden environmental changes—like non-functioning traffic signals—can significantly impact Waymo’s ability to navigate effectively.
Waymo, owned by Alphabet Inc., launched its autonomous ride-hailing service to the public in 2018 in the Phoenix metro area and has since expanded to cities including Austin and Atlanta through partnerships with Uber. However, the company has faced several operational challenges. In May 2025, Waymo recalled software for over 1,200 vehicles after collisions with “chains or gates.” More recently, a Waymo vehicle struck and killed a beloved bodega cat in San Francisco, generating significant public backlash from residents.
Key Quotes
Yesterday’s power outage was a widespread event that caused gridlock across San Francisco, with non-functioning traffic signals and transit disruptions. While the failure of the utility infrastructure was significant, we are committed to ensuring our technology adjusts to traffic flow during such events.
A Waymo spokesperson provided this statement to Business Insider on Sunday, acknowledging the challenges their autonomous vehicles faced while committing to technological improvements for future infrastructure failures.
Tesla Robotaxis were unaffected by the SF power outage.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted this claim on X, using the Waymo incident as an opportunity to promote Tesla’s competing autonomous vehicle technology and highlight differences in their respective approaches to self-driving navigation.
Our Take
This incident reveals a sobering reality about autonomous vehicle deployment: AI systems are only as reliable as the infrastructure they depend on. Waymo’s struggles during the power outage demonstrate that even sophisticated AI with multiple sensor arrays can fail when environmental assumptions break down. The competitive jab from Musk, while opportunistic, points to genuine technological trade-offs—Tesla’s vision-based approach may handle infrastructure failures better, but has faced its own safety concerns. What’s most concerning is that these robotaxis stalled during an emergency when transportation reliability matters most. As the autonomous vehicle industry pushes toward mainstream adoption, this event should prompt serious discussions about resilience, redundancy, and whether current AI systems are truly ready for the unpredictable nature of real-world urban environments. The industry needs to move beyond optimizing for normal conditions and design for chaos.
Why This Matters
This incident exposes critical vulnerabilities in autonomous vehicle technology and raises important questions about the readiness of AI-powered robotaxis for widespread deployment. As cities increasingly embrace self-driving vehicles, the San Francisco power outage demonstrates that current autonomous systems may struggle during infrastructure failures—precisely when reliable transportation becomes most critical.
The event highlights the fundamental technological debate between different approaches to autonomous driving. Waymo’s reliance on detailed pre-mapped data and multiple sensor systems offers precision under normal conditions but creates dependencies on stable infrastructure. Tesla’s camera-and-AI approach may offer more adaptability to unexpected conditions, though both systems face unique challenges.
For the broader AI and autonomous vehicle industry, this incident underscores the need for more robust fail-safe mechanisms and adaptive algorithms that can handle edge cases and infrastructure failures. As companies race to deploy robotaxi services commercially, regulators and city planners must consider how autonomous vehicles will perform during emergencies, natural disasters, and infrastructure disruptions. The competitive dynamics between Waymo and Tesla also illustrate how technological approaches will shape market leadership in the multi-billion dollar autonomous transportation sector.