EVwire brief: Multiple Waymo robotaxis ran out of battery and had to be towed after getting stuck in gridlock following San Francisco's Fourth of July fireworks show. News reports confirmed that over a dozen Waymos, many of them Jaguar I-PACE units, were seemingly disabled on Presidio streets after the Golden Gate Bridge fireworks let out.
Here’s what things looked like on the ground, as shared by users on X:
Another look at some pedestrians manually moving the disabled Waymo robotaxis.
Separately, one occupied Waymo drove over a lit firework in an intersection, while a different, empty Waymo Ojai caught fire after doing the same. No injuries were reported in either incident.
The fact that an Ojai ended up burning during the night’s events is extremely unfortunate.
Waymo dispatched its own roadside crews to pull the disabled cars out of traffic, and a company spokesperson said Waymo is "evaluating ways to strengthen Waymo's resilience in major traffic disruptions." The company also explained the reason behind the unexpected events.
Major traffic disruptions, a high volume of travelers, and unplanned road closures contributed to unexpected congestion.
A Waymo Ojai unfortunately became one of the casualties in the 4th of July incidents
Context:
Riders described the chaos firsthand. Dave Guingona was among those idling for close to two hours before crews finally hauled away the dead robotaxis blocking the road, and said fellow drivers eventually snapped. In a comment to NBC, he said, "We realized people were getting out of their cars, yelling and screaming at these Waymos because there were no drivers."
Gridlock isn't the only thing that's grounded Waymo's San Francisco fleet this year. A citywide power outage in December knocked out electricity for over 100,000 households and killed several traffic signals, and Waymo suspended its service rather than risk vehicles idling at dead intersections. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, for his part, has championed the robotaxis publicly, calling them "safe and sustainable."
Source: NBC News
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