Saturday night was supposed to be the ultimate West Coast vibe. Fireworks at the Golden Gate. Drinks in hand. Then the roads locked up. Not just a little stuck. Totally gridlocked.
Videos hit X almost immediately. Angry drivers posting clips of Waymo robotaxis sitting motionless in the middle of San Francisco streets. They wouldn’t move. No reason. Just there.
Waymo confirmed the chaos.
They told Mashable it wasn’t a software bug in the traditional sense. The city was hosting a massive Fourth of July celebration. Huge volume of travelers. Unexpected road closures popping up all over. It was a perfect storm of urban mismanagement and holiday crowds.
The cars didn’t just brake. They died.
While some vehicles kept operating, others were sitting idling in traffic so long they ran out of charge. Out of power. Tows came for the autonomous stragglers. It looked ugly on social media.
Our priority is keeping San SF moving safely especially during major city celebrations
A spokesperson said they’re looking at ways to boost resilience when traffic goes south. It sounds nice. It always does. But let’s be real.
This happened before. Last December, a simple power outage killed the traffic lights at intersections. The cars couldn’t decide what to do without those signals. Service suspended. Temporarily, anyway.
It feels a bit ironic, really. Just two days before the Fourth, Waymo posted on X showing how easy it is to hail one of their cars.
“Because after a night out, getting back should be the easiest part.”
The caption read. Simple. Clean. Uncomplicated.
Until the fireworks started. Until the traffic hit. Until the battery dropped to zero and you’re stranded next to a tow truck in mid-town SF.
Is it resilient? We’ll see next holiday weekend. For now, the grid remains. And so does the skepticism. 🚗💨
