SAN FRANCISCO – Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, has fully restarted its robotaxi fleet in San Francisco and Phoenix following a widespread power outage that temporarily grounded hundreds of vehicles on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. The incident—caused by a software glitch triggered by a cellular network disruption—left dozens of Waymo cars stopped in streets, blocking traffic and prompting emergency responses from local authorities.
The outage lasted several hours, with Waymo confirming all vehicles were safely recovered and no injuries reported. A company spokesperson stated: “We identified the root cause—a brief loss of connectivity—and implemented fixes to prevent recurrence. Service is now restored across our operational areas.”
What Happened?
- Trigger: Cellular network failure disrupted vehicle-to-cloud communication.
- Impact: Autonomous cars entered “safe stop” mode, halting in place—some mid-intersection or on busy roads.
- Scale: Affected ~300-400 vehicles in SF and Phoenix metro areas.
- Response: Waymo dispatched recovery teams; SF fire department assisted in towing blocked cars.
This marks the largest operational disruption for Waymo since scaling commercial rides in 2024, raising questions about redundancy in connectivity-dependent systems. Competitors like Cruise (GM) and Zoox (Amazon) faced similar criticisms in past incidents.
Waymo emphasized safety protocols worked as intended—vehicles avoided collisions—but the event highlights growing pains in scaling robotaxis for 24/7 reliability.
Service resumption brings relief to riders reliant on the app for daily commutes, with Waymo offering promotional credits as goodwill. As robotaxi competition heats up (Tesla’s Cybercab unveil, Chinese entrants), incidents like this underscore the tech’s real-world challenges—even for industry leader Waymo.
Incident Snapshot:
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Date | December 23, 2025 |
| Cause | Cellular network outage/software glitch |
| Affected Cities | San Francisco, Phoenix |
| Vehicles Impacted | Hundreds |
| Status | Fully restored |