Elon Musk Slams Waymo’s Autonomous Vehicles Following San Francisco Blackout
Constellation Research founder Ray Wang joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to discuss a possible suspension of Tesla sales in California amid claims of deceptive marketing surrounding autopilot features, the growth of Waymo nationwide and more.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently took a jab at Waymo after its self-driving cars became immobilized at intersections in San Francisco, leading to significant traffic congestion during a widespread blackout over the weekend.
Waymo temporarily halted its autonomous ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday due to a massive power outage that affected approximately 130,000 homes and businesses. Videos circulated online showing Waymo’s self-driving vehicles stalled at intersections, exacerbating traffic issues in the area.
Musk took to X to highlight the situation, stating, “Tesla Robotaxis were unaffected by the SF power outage,” and shared a video depicting Waymo cars halted at an intersection with non-functioning traffic lights, while frustrated drivers honked and maneuvered around them. He also shared footage of a Tesla self-driving car successfully navigating an intersection where traffic lights were down.
A Waymo spokesperson informed Fox News Digital that the company resumed its ride-hailing service in the area after a brief pause on Saturday evening.
TESLA’S SELF-DRIVING CARS UNDER FIRE AGAIN
The spokesperson explained, “[Saturday’s] power outage was a widespread event that caused gridlock across San Francisco, with non-functioning traffic signals and transit disruptions. While the failure of the utility infrastructure was significant, we are committed to ensuring our technology adjusts to traffic flow during such events.”
Waymo driverless cars were unable to detect traffic lights after a major power outage in San Francisco on Dec. 20, 2025. The cars stopped longer than usual at intersections with down traffic lights, contributing to gridlock, the company said. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Waymo Driver, the company’s fully autonomous driving technology, is designed to treat non-functional traffic signals as four-way stops. However, the scale of the outages on Saturday led to instances where Waymo’s self-driving cars remained stopped longer than usual to assess the status of the affected intersections, further contributing to traffic congestion.
A Waymo car is halted on the road amid a power outage in San Francisco, Dec. 20, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. (Reuters / Reuters Photos)
The spokesperson emphasized that the company is “focused on rapidly integrating the lessons learned from this event.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 481.20 | -2.17 | -0.45% |
| GOOG | ALPHABET INC. | 308.61 | +4.86 | +1.60% |
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 307.16 | +4.70 | +1.55% |
Waymo is owned by Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google.
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., took a swipe at Waymo, a rival autonomous driving technology company, after its self-driving cars appeared to stop at intersections with non-functioning traffic signals during a blackout in San Francisco. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File / Getty Images)
The blackout was partially caused by a fire that broke out inside a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. substation located at 8th and Mission streets. This incident affected around 130,000 homes and businesses, representing about a third of the utility’s customers.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 481.20 | -2.17 | -0.45% |
| GOOG | ALPHABET INC. | 308.61 | +4.86 | +1.60% |
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As of 7:30 a.m. Sunday, PG&E reported that crews had restored power to about 110,000 customers, leaving approximately 21,000 customers still without electricity, primarily in the Presidio, Richmond District, Golden Gate Park, and small areas of downtown San Francisco.
Constellation Research founder Ray Wang joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to discuss a possible suspension of Tesla sales in California amid claims of deceptive marketing surrounding autopilot features, the growth of Waymo nationwide and more.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently took a jab at Waymo after its self-driving cars became immobilized at intersections in San Francisco, leading to significant traffic congestion during a widespread blackout over the weekend.
Waymo temporarily halted its autonomous ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday due to a massive power outage that affected approximately 130,000 homes and businesses. Videos circulated online showing Waymo’s self-driving vehicles stalled at intersections, exacerbating traffic issues in the area.
Musk took to X to highlight the situation, stating, “Tesla Robotaxis were unaffected by the SF power outage,” and shared a video depicting Waymo cars halted at an intersection with non-functioning traffic lights, while frustrated drivers honked and maneuvered around them. He also shared footage of a Tesla self-driving car successfully navigating an intersection where traffic lights were down.
A Waymo spokesperson informed Fox News Digital that the company resumed its ride-hailing service in the area after a brief pause on Saturday evening.
TESLA’S SELF-DRIVING CARS UNDER FIRE AGAIN
The spokesperson explained, “[Saturday’s] power outage was a widespread event that caused gridlock across San Francisco, with non-functioning traffic signals and transit disruptions. While the failure of the utility infrastructure was significant, we are committed to ensuring our technology adjusts to traffic flow during such events.”
Waymo driverless cars were unable to detect traffic lights after a major power outage in San Francisco on Dec. 20, 2025. The cars stopped longer than usual at intersections with down traffic lights, contributing to gridlock, the company said. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Waymo Driver, the company’s fully autonomous driving technology, is designed to treat non-functional traffic signals as four-way stops. However, the scale of the outages on Saturday led to instances where Waymo’s self-driving cars remained stopped longer than usual to assess the status of the affected intersections, further contributing to traffic congestion.
A Waymo car is halted on the road amid a power outage in San Francisco, Dec. 20, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. (Reuters / Reuters Photos)
The spokesperson emphasized that the company is “focused on rapidly integrating the lessons learned from this event.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 481.20 | -2.17 | -0.45% |
| GOOG | ALPHABET INC. | 308.61 | +4.86 | +1.60% |
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 307.16 | +4.70 | +1.55% |
Waymo is owned by Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google.
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., took a swipe at Waymo, a rival autonomous driving technology company, after its self-driving cars appeared to stop at intersections with non-functioning traffic signals during a blackout in San Francisco. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File / Getty Images)
The blackout was partially caused by a fire that broke out inside a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. substation located at 8th and Mission streets. This incident affected around 130,000 homes and businesses, representing about a third of the utility’s customers.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 481.20 | -2.17 | -0.45% |
| GOOG | ALPHABET INC. | 308.61 | +4.86 | +1.60% |
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
As of 7:30 a.m. Sunday, PG&E reported that crews had restored power to about 110,000 customers, leaving approximately 21,000 customers still without electricity, primarily in the Presidio, Richmond District, Golden Gate Park, and small areas of downtown San Francisco.
