Waymo Halts San Francisco Robotaxi Operations After Citywide Blackout Disrupts Fleet

New updates have been reported about Waymo (PC:WAYMO)

Waymo temporarily shut down its robotaxi service across the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday evening after a major power outage left many of its autonomous vehicles stopped in streets and intersections, underscoring the operational sensitivity of commercial robotaxi networks to city infrastructure failures. Photos and videos posted online showed clusters of Waymo vehicles stalled in traffic as human drivers navigated around or behind them. The company confirmed it suspended ride-hailing operations due to the blackout and said it is coordinating with city officials to monitor infrastructure stability before restoring service. Waymo did not specify the technical root cause, but the outage knocked out traffic lights and disrupted other transport systems, suggesting that loss of critical traffic control infrastructure—and potentially interruptions to communications or traffic data—limited the system’s ability to operate safely.

The disruption comes as Waymo’s robotaxi business scales rapidly: a leaked investor letter from Tiger Global Management indicates the company is now delivering about 450,000 rides per week, nearly double the volume Waymo publicly cited in the spring. That growth trajectory heightens the financial and reputational stakes of any large-scale service interruption, especially in a key market like San Francisco that serves as both an operational hub and a proof point for regulators, investors, and partners. While the blackout itself was reportedly caused by a fire at a Pacific Gas & Electric substation and affected roughly 120,000 customers, the incident highlights systemic risks for autonomous ride-hailing tied to grid reliability, traffic management infrastructure, and connectivity. Executives tracking Waymo should view this as a live test of the company’s resilience, crisis management, and ability to quickly restore service in a complex urban environment, factors that will influence regulatory confidence, customer adoption, and ultimately the scalability and margins of its driverless mobility business.