Waymo robotaxi service stalls in San Francisco blackout, raising autonomy concerns
Waymo suspended its self-driving taxi operations in San Francisco over the weekend after a massive power outage caused numerous vehicles to freeze in place, disrupting traffic in several neighborhoods. Pictures and videos of stalled Waymos on city streets quickly circulated online. The incident underscores the autonomous vehicles’ reliance on external infrastructure like traffic signals and connectivity, which were compromised during the blackout. In contrast, some Tesla vehicles using Full Self-Driving appeared to navigate the same conditions without issue.
The blackout highlights a critical vulnerability in current robotaxi systems and raises broader questions about urban readiness for widespread autonomous vehicle deployment.
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