Waymo Robotaxis Allegedly Contributed to Traffic Gridlock During San Francisco PG&E Power Outage
- Date of incident
- December 20, 2025
- Jurisdiction
- San Francisco, California, USA
- Sources
- 5 cited
- Last verified
- May 25, 2026
Summary
Waymo's autonomous vehicle fleet reportedly contributed to traffic congestion in San Francisco after a PG&E substation fire cut power to nearly one-third of the city on December 20, 2025. As traffic signals went dark, Waymo vehicles requested remote confirmation checks at scale, creating delays that added to gridlock and prompted city officials to order the fleet off the road. Waymo later paused service and announced software and emergency-response updates.
What is reported
Waymo's autonomous vehicle fleet reportedly contributed to traffic congestion in San Francisco after a PG&E substation fire cut power to nearly one-third of the city on December 20, 2025. As traffic signals went dark, Waymo vehicles requested remote confirmation checks at scale, creating delays that added to gridlock and prompted city officials to order the fleet off the road. Waymo later paused service and announced software and emergency-response updates.
Editorial note
factuality_score=93; 3 warnings; tags accepted as-is from pipeline
Sources
This record summarizes the cited reports. See the sources panel for the underlying URLs and archive copies.
Sources
- 01
- 02sfgate.com — Waymo temporarily suspends service in SF amid power outagesecondary12/20/2025
- 03