Blackout in San Francisco: Autonomous Taxis Going Haywire!
- Published on 21/12/2025 19:32
- Modified on 21/12/2025 19:33
San Francisco had a brutal and somewhat frightening preview on Saturday evening of the limits of autonomous mobility.
Amid a massive power outage, Waymo’s robotaxis caused chaos in the streets of San Francisco, forcing the company to temporarily suspend its service across the city. An almost dystopian scene in the heart of the world’s tech capital.
It all started with a widespread blackout caused by an incident at a power station located at the intersection of 8th Street and Mission Street. The result: traffic lights out of order, intersections plunged into chaos, and nearly 125,000 homes and businesses left without electricity throughout the day. In this degraded urban landscape, Waymo’s autonomous cars found themselves… at a loss.
Blind Robotaxis
Deprived of functioning traffic lights, several driverless vehicles came to a standstill in the middle of intersections, unable to make a decision. Quickly, images flooded social media: Waymo vehicles blocked nose-to-nose, drivers stuck behind, honking and general frustration. Six Waymo cars parked in front of a non-functional light, blocking the entire neighborhood. Clearly not the best advertisement for a service meant to simplify life.
Faced with the scale of the disorder, Waymo had no choice but to shut down operations. On Saturday at 8 p.m., the operator announced the suspension of its autonomous ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area. “We have temporarily halted our services due to the widespread outage. Our teams are working closely with local authorities to monitor infrastructure stability,” a spokesperson said.
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While some witnesses pointed out that the vehicles eventually managed to clear reasonably quickly, the incident leaves a stain. It reignites a heated debate: what are the promises of autonomous driving worth in the face of unforeseen situations, as basic as a turned-off traffic light?
No injuries were reported, but for Waymo, the incident could leave lasting scars, well beyond that night plunged into darkness.
This page is translated from the original post "Black-out à San Francisco: les taxis autonomes deviennent fous !" in French.
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