Waymo resuming San Francisco rides after blackout leaves robotaxis stranded
What's the story
Waymo temporarily suspended its robotaxi service in San Francisco after a major power outage. The incident left many of its autonomous vehicles stalled at intersections and along busy roads. In contrast, Teslas using Full Self-Driving software kept moving. The blackout was triggered by a fire at a Pacific Gas & Electric substation, affecting over 120,000 customers across several neighborhoods.
Service suspension
Waymo's response to the power outage
Following the blackout, Waymo confirmed a temporary halt to its ride-hailing service in San Francisco. The company's spokesperson Suzanne Philion issued a statement saying, "We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services in the San Francisco Bay Area due to the widespread power outage." She added that their teams are working closely with city officials to assess infrastructure stability and hope to resume services soon.
Service disruption
Blackout's impact on Waymo vehicles
The blackout had a major impact on Waymo's autonomous vehicles, leaving them stalled in the middle of streets. Human-driven cars either maneuvered around these unmoving vehicles or backed up behind them. The exact reason for this drastic effect on Waymo's fleet is yet to be explained by the company. Some speculate that it could be due to an outage in cell service or traffic data.
Restoration efforts
PG&E's response to the power outage
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has been working to restore power to affected customers. The utility company said its crews had restored electricity to about 110,000 customers by Sunday morning and were working on restoring the remaining 21,000 in different neighborhoods. However, PG&E warned that "the damage from the fire in our substation was significant and extensive," making repairs complex.
Twitter Post
Blackout disrupts the robotaxi service
Power out in SF and the @Waymo’s are causing a MASSIVE jam in North Beach 🤣 pic.twitter.com/fuvhprlyma
— Iago Maciel (@_iagomaciel) December 21, 2025