Waymo Suspended Service in San Francisco After Its Cars Stalled During Power Outage; The New York Times, December 21, 2025

Sonia A. Rao, Christina Morales and Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon, The New York Times; Waymo Suspended Service in San Francisco After Its Cars Stalled During Power Outage

"An hourslong power outage in San Francisco over the weekend that caused tens of thousands of households to lose electricity also knocked out Waymo service, with the ubiquitous self-driving cars coming to a halt at darkened traffic signals, blocking traffic and angering drivers of regular vehicles that became stuck as a result.

The ride-hailing service remained offline Sunday afternoon and tow truck operators said they had been towing Waymos for hours overnight. Social media was littered with videos of the vehicles at blocked intersections with their hazard lights blinking...

Beyond safety, Waymo critics have argued that the self-driving cars could siphon people from public transit ridership and eliminate jobs while simultaneously enriching executives in Silicon Valley."