Waymo shut down service during San Francisco's blackout because its driverless taxis got confused

Core Insights - A power outage in San Francisco caused significant disruptions, halting Waymo's self-driving cars and leading to traffic congestion [1][2] - Waymo has temporarily suspended its services in the affected area due to the outage [2] - The outage impacted approximately 130,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers, with a fire causing extensive damage to a substation [4] Company Operations - Waymo is working closely with city officials to restore services and has expressed hope for a quick resolution [3] - The company has faced challenges in the past, including a software recall for over 1,200 cars and incidents involving collisions with objects [6] Competitive Landscape - Tesla and Waymo are direct competitors in the autonomous ride-hailing market, utilizing different technologies for navigation [5] - Tesla's robotaxis rely on cameras and AI, while Waymo employs a combination of light sensors, radar, cameras, and detailed maps [5] - Elon Musk highlighted that Tesla's robotaxis were unaffected by the power outage, positioning Tesla favorably in the competitive landscape [4]