Waymo, the autonomous driving unit of Alphabet Inc., has announced significant improvements to its software and emergency response protocols following a major incident during a widespread power outage in San Francisco on December 20, 2025. The outage, caused by a fire at a Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) substation, plunged nearly one-third of the city into darkness, affecting approximately 130,000 customers and disabling traffic signals across multiple neighborhoods, including the Richmond District, Presidio, and parts of downtown.
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As non-functional traffic lights turned intersections into potential four-way stops, Waymo’s robotaxis—designed to treat dark signals cautiously—began stalling, activating hazard lights, and contributing to severe gridlock. Social media videos captured clusters of up to five vehicles blocking roads, exacerbating congestion on already overwhelmed streets during a rainy holiday weekend. Waymo temporarily suspended its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area on Saturday evening, coordinating with city officials, including Mayor Daniel Lurie’s team, to pull vehicles over safely and resume operations only after power restoration progressed on Sunday.
In response, Waymo stated it successfully navigated over 7,000 dark signals but experienced delays due to a backlog in remote confirmation requests—a protocol suited for earlier deployment phases but strained at current scale. The company is now rolling out fleet-wide software updates to provide vehicles with “specific power outage context,” enabling more decisive navigation. Additionally, it vows to refine emergency response protocols, expand engagement with first responders, and enhance coordination with local authorities.
This event highlights vulnerabilities in autonomous vehicle technology amid infrastructure failures. Waymo operates over 2,500 vehicles nationwide, providing hundreds of thousands of weekly rides, but faces ongoing challenges. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has launched a review of the stalled vehicles, adding to recent scrutiny, including a software recall earlier in 2025 for issues in Texas. Critics, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, highlighted competitors’ resilience, while supporters note Waymo’s safety record over 100 million autonomous miles.
As robotaxis become ubiquitous in cities like San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, incidents like this underscore the need for robust contingency planning against real-world disruptions.