San Francisco experienced a major power outage on December 20, leaving roughly 130,000 customers without electricity. By late December 21, most homes had power restored, but approximately 17,000 customers remained affected. The blackout, which began shortly after 1 p.m., primarily hit the northern part of the city, cutting electricity to nearly one-third of the utility’s customers at its peak.

The outage triggered widespread chaos, particularly across traffic systems. With traffic lights offline, Waymo’s driverless vehicles reportedly froze at intersections, worsening congestion and forcing the Alphabet-backed company to suspend ride-hailing services. Social media was flooded with videos of Waymo cars stopped with hazard lights blinking at busy junctions. Rider Michele Riva recalled her Waymo vehicle halting abruptly near her destination, unable to navigate the uncontrolled environment.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) traced the outage to a fire at its substation at 8th and Mission streets. The blaze caused extensive damage, complicating repair efforts. PG&E crews worked through the weekend, deploying extra engineers and electricians, but could not guarantee a full restoration timeline due to the complex, safety-sensitive nature of the repairs. The utility emphasized maintaining the highest safety standards throughout the process.

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management advised residents to limit travel and treat non-functioning traffic signals as four-way stops. PG&E also posted on X that the grid had been stabilized and anticipated no further outages, though transit disruptions continued across the city.

Amid the Waymo disruption, Tesla CEO Elon Musk seized the moment to highlight his company’s driverless technology. Musk asserted that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system is more resilient in such emergencies, implicitly positioning Tesla as better equipped for urban challenges when infrastructure failures occur. This public commentary has sparked debate over the readiness of autonomous vehicle systems during unexpected events, as Waymo and Tesla compete in the rapidly evolving robotaxi market.

The incident underscores the vulnerability of autonomous vehicles to real-world infrastructure failures and the importance of robust safety protocols in driverless technology, particularly as cities increasingly integrate AI-powered transportation solutions into public streets.