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

Core Insights - A power outage in San Francisco caused significant disruptions, affecting Waymo's self-driving cars and leading to traffic congestion across the city [1][2][3] - Waymo temporarily suspended its ride-hailing services due to the outage, which impacted approximately 130,000 customers of Pacific Gas & Electric [2] - Following the outage, Waymo resumed its services the next day, emphasizing its commitment to adapting technology to traffic conditions during such events [2][3] Company Operations - Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing service was launched in 2018 in the Phoenix metro area and has since expanded to other cities like Austin and Atlanta through a partnership with Uber [9] - The company has faced challenges, including a software recall for over 1,200 vehicles due to collisions and a recent incident involving a Waymo vehicle hitting a cat, which drew public outrage [9] Competitive Landscape - Tesla and Waymo are direct competitors in the autonomous ride-hailing market, utilizing different technologies; Tesla relies on cameras and AI, while Waymo employs a combination of light sensors, radar, cameras, and detailed maps [8] - Elon Musk highlighted Tesla's robotaxis as unaffected by the San Francisco power outage, positioning Tesla favorably against Waymo in the wake of the incident [7][8]