Waymo Self-Driving Cars
Left Stalled on Major Roads During SF Power Outage
Published
San Francisco experienced a major power outage on Saturday night, plunging the entire city into darkness and leaving numerous Waymo self-driving taxis stranded.
The citywide power outage forced Waymo to suspend its driverless car service, resulting in autonomous vehicles being stuck in the middle of streets and intersections, as captured in videos shared online by pedestrians.
Bad day to be a Waymo in SF during a PG&E-induced power outage pic.twitter.com/3SwEP993zn
— Mishaal Abbasi (@WhereIsMishaal) December 21, 2025
@WhereIsMishaal
A Waymo spokesperson informed TMZ that ride-hailing services have been temporarily suspended due to the power outage. The spokesperson mentioned, “Our teams are working diligently and in close coordination with city officials to monitor infrastructure stability, and we are hopeful to bring our services back online soon.”
SFGATE reported that the company had to halt its operations around 8 p.m. as the cars couldn’t function without traffic signals.
Footage shared online showed at least four Waymo vehicles parked in the middle of an intersection with their hazard lights on, causing a significant traffic congestion in the North Beach neighborhood.
SFGATE mentioned that thousands of San Franciscans were still without power on Sunday morning as PG&E crews worked to restore electricity following nearly a day-long outage.
We have reached out to Waymo for a statement but have not received a response yet.
