MINT·2025-12-22 01:33Core Insights - A significant power outage in San Francisco affected over 130,000 customers, with 16,000 still without power as of late December 21 [1][8] - Waymo's driverless vehicles were notably impacted, causing traffic disruptions as they froze mid-ride due to the outage affecting traffic signals [2][7] - The outage was attributed to a fire at PG&E's substation, leading to extensive damage and a complex restoration process [4][5] Company Impact - PG&E reported that it restored power to 110,000 customers by Sunday morning, but 21,000 remained without electricity [9] - Waymo had to pause its services in the Bay Area, affecting at least seven cities, due to the outage and subsequent traffic chaos [10][11] - Elon Musk highlighted that Tesla's robotaxis were unaffected by the power outage, positioning Tesla favorably against Waymo in terms of reliability during infrastructure failures [2][12] Industry Implications - The incident underscores the vulnerability of urban transport systems to power outages, emphasizing the need for reliable infrastructure [8] - The reliability of autonomous vehicles is critical, especially in emergency situations, as demonstrated by Waymo's challenges during the outage [8] - Technological resilience in the face of infrastructure failures can serve as a competitive advantage in the autonomous vehicle market [12]