{"id":45700,"date":"2025-12-22T12:30:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=45700"},"modified":"2025-12-22T12:37:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:37:23","slug":"stuck-and-confused-waymo-robotaxis-snarl-san-francisco-traffic-during-massive-blackout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/12\/22\/stuck-and-confused-waymo-robotaxis-snarl-san-francisco-traffic-during-massive-blackout\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Stuck and Confused\u2019 Waymo Robotaxis Snarl San Francisco Traffic During Massive Blackout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A long line of Waymo autonomous taxis compounds San Francisco traffic gridlock caused by a Pacific Gas & Electric blackout on December 20, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 (Photo by @AnnTrades\/X)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring a disaster… Waymos would be blocking evacuation routes. Hard to believe no one asked these questions, until you realize that good governance is suspended when billionaires knock on the door,\u201d said one observer.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dec 21, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A citywide Pacific Gas & Electric power outage Saturday in San Francisco paralyzed Waymo autonomous taxis, exacerbating traffic chaos and prompting a fleet-wide shutdown\u2014and calls for more robust robotaxi regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 130,000 San Francisco homes and businesses went dark due to an afternoon fire at a PG&E substation in the city\u2019s South of Market neighborhood. While most PG&E customers had their electricity restored by around 9:00 pm, more than 20,000 rate-payers remained without power on Sunday morning, according to<\/a> the San Francisco Standard<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tesla Robotaxis Are Crashing More Than 12 Times as Frequently as Human Drivers: Report<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The blackout left traffic lights inoperable, rendering much of Waymo\u2019s fleet of around 300 robotaxis \u201cstuck and confused,\u201d as one local resident put it<\/a>, as cascading failures left groups of as many as half a dozen of the robotaxis immobile. In some cases, the stopped vehicles nearly caused collisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a walk across San Francisco on Saturday night prior to the fleet grounding at around 7:00 pm, this reporter saw numerous Waymos stuck on streets or in intersections, while others seemed to surrender, pulling or even backing out of intersections and parking themselves where they could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Bad look for Waymo. Lots of reports out of SF where the power outage caused its robotaxis to stop in traffic, causing jams.

On the other side, the Tesla robotaxi fleet (& personal FSD users) continued the service without hiccups.

Not clear if Waymo vehicles themselves are\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/DexuAh0Bpt<\/a><\/p>— Jaan of the EVwire.com \u26a1 (@TheEVuniverse) December 21, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>