Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company, temporarily paused its robotaxi service in San Francisco for approximately one hour due to a power outage affecting around 7,000 PG&E customers.The pause was necessitated by the need to assess the scale of the outage and coordinate with local officials.

A Waymo spokesperson stated that the company made 'temporary adjustments' to its operations while monitoring local conditions, emphasizing their commitment to restoring normal service as quickly as possible.

This incident follows previous disruptions caused by power outages, such as when vehicles stalled during a December blackout and during a Golden Gate Bridge fireworks show in July.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has since called for stricter state regulations to address how autonomous vehicles operate during emergencies, highlighting concerns about safety and reliability.

The company's decision to pause service underscores the challenges of maintaining operational continuity in urban environments with aging infrastructure.

While Waymo reassured customers that service had resumed, the incident raises broader questions about the resilience of self-driving technology amid unforeseen disruptions.

Critics argue that such events expose gaps in contingency planning for autonomous systems, particularly in densely populated areas reliant on grid stability.