Waymo's San Francisco Power Outage: Implications for Autonomous Vehicle Readiness

On December 20, 2025, a significant power outage in San Francisco, caused by a fire at a Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) substation, left approximately 130,000 residents without electricity. This outage disabled traffic signals across the city, leading to severe congestion as Waymo's autonomous robotaxis became immobilized at intersections. Videos circulated on social media showed multiple Waymo vehicles stalled with their hazard lights activated, contributing to traffic chaos during a critical shopping weekend.

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Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, temporarily halted its robotaxi services in San Francisco as the situation escalated. The company stated that its vehicles are programmed to treat dark traffic signals as four-way stops, but the scale of the outage overwhelmed their system. During the incident, Waymo's vehicles generated a high volume of confirmation requests to remote human operators, which resulted in delays and further congestion. Waymo reported that while they successfully navigated over 7,000 dark signals, the concentrated spike in requests led to significant response delays.

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In the aftermath of the incident, San Francisco officials, including Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, called for an investigation into Waymo's operations during emergencies. Mahmood expressed concerns about the potential implications of robotaxis impeding evacuations or emergency services during larger disasters, such as earthquakes. The California Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission are reviewing the incident and considering new regulations to ensure that autonomous vehicle operators can effectively manage emergency situations.

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Waymo acknowledged the limitations exposed by the outage and committed to implementing software updates to enhance its emergency response protocols. The company plans to refine its confirmation processes to better handle large-scale outages and improve coordination with city officials and first responders. Waymo's spokesperson emphasized the importance of rapidly integrating lessons learned from this event to maintain public trust.

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Experts have raised concerns about the readiness of autonomous vehicles to handle real-world emergencies. Philip Koopman, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, highlighted the need for stricter regulations to ensure that robotaxi operators can manage scenarios like power outages effectively. Missy Cummings, director of the Autonomy and Robotics Center at George Mason University, echoed this sentiment, advocating for federal oversight of remote operations to ensure adequate backup systems are in place.

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The San Francisco power outage has underscored critical vulnerabilities in autonomous vehicle technology, particularly in emergency situations. As Waymo and other companies continue to expand their robotaxi services, the incident serves as a reminder of the need for robust emergency protocols and regulatory frameworks to ensure public safety. The ongoing scrutiny and potential regulatory changes may shape the future of autonomous vehicle deployment in urban environments.

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• “If you get a response to a blackout wrong, regulators are derelict if they do not respond to that by requiring some sort of proof that the earthquake scenario will be handled properly,” — Philip Koopman, Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

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• “The whole point of having remote operations is for humans to be there when the system is not responsive in the way it should be,” — Missy Cummings, Director, George Mason University Autonomy and Robotics Center

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• “We are focused on rapidly integrating the lessons learned from this event, and are committed to earning and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve every day.” — Waymo Spokesperson

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