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CEO of Tesla Elon Musk took a swipe at Waymo after its self-driving cars stopped running at intersections in San Francisco, causing traffic jams during a widespread power outage this weekend.
Waymo temporarily suspended its autonomous ride service in the san francisco bay area on saturday after a huge power outage The electricity supply to approximately 130,000 homes and businesses was disrupted. A video was shared online of Waymo self-driving cars appearing to come to a halt at intersections, causing traffic jams in the affected areas.
“Tesla Robotaxis was not affected by the SF power outage,” Musk posted on Musk also reposted a video reportedly showing a self-driving Tesla car navigating an intersection with non-functioning traffic lights.
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“[Saturday’s] The outage was a widespread event that caused traffic congestion throughout San Francisco, with non-functioning traffic lights and disruptions to public transportation,” the spokesperson said. “While the utility infrastructure failure was significant, we want to ensure our technology adapts to traffic flow during such events.”
Waymo self-driving cars failed to detect traffic lights after a major power outage in San Francisco on Dec. 20, 2025. The cars stopped longer than normal at intersections with traffic lights turned off, contributing to the gridlock, the company said. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via / Getty Images)
Waymo Driver, from the company fully autonomous driving technologyis designed to treat non-functional traffic signals as four-way stops, according to the company.
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However, the extent of Saturday’s outages led to instances where Waymo’s self-driving cars were stopped longer than normal to check the status of affected intersections, contributing to the gridlock, the company said.
A Waymo car is stopped during a power outage in San Francisco on December 20, 2025, in this screenshot obtained from a social media video. (/Reuters photos)
The spokesperson said the company is “focused on quickly integrating the lessons learned from this event.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 488.73 | +7.53 |
+1.56% |
| GOOG | ALPHABET INC. | 311.33 | +2.72 |
+0.88% |
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 309.78 | +2.62 |
+0.85% |
Waymo is owned by Alphabet Inc., the same parent company as Google.
Elon Musk has taken a swipe at Waymo, a rival autonomous driving technology company, after its self-driving cars appeared to stop at intersections with non-functioning traffic lights during a power outage in San Francisco on Saturday. (Stefani Reynolds/File/Bloomberg via/Getty Images)
The massive power outage was caused, at least in part, by a fire that broke out inside a substation of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. at 8th and Mission streets. Power outages affected about 130,000 homes and businesses, about a third of the utility’s customers.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 488.73 | +7.53 |
+1.56% |
| GOOG | ALPHABET INC. | 311.33 | +2.72 |
+0.88% |
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PG&E said in an update Sunday morning that damage from the substation fire was “significant and extensive,” and noted that repairs and restoration would be “complex.”
People observe an area affected by a power outage that affected about 130,000 residents in San Francisco on December 21, 2025, according to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. (Carlos Barria / Reuters Photos)
As of 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning, the utility said crews had restored electricity approximately 110,000 customerswith approximately 21,000 customers without power, primarily in the Presidio, Richmond District, Golden Gate Park and small parts of downtown San Francisco.
