Elon Musk Mocks Waymo After San Francisco Blackout Exposes Self-Driving Vulnerabilities in Traffic Chaos

Tesla CEO Elon Musk wasted no time capitalizing on a chaotic weekend in San Francisco, where a massive power outage caused widespread gridlock and exposed limitations in competitor Waymo’s autonomous vehicles.

As dozens of Waymo self-driving cars appeared stalled at darkened intersections, triggering traffic jams and driver frustration, Musk took to X to highlight Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology navigating similar conditions without issue.

The incident, stemming from a substation fire that knocked out power to approximately 130,000 homes and businesses on Saturday, January 2, 2026, has reignited debates over the reliability, resilience, and real-world readiness of autonomous driving systems amid unpredictable infrastructure failures.

While Waymo acknowledged the disruption and resumed service, Musk’s pointed commentary underscores the intensifying rivalry in the race toward fully driverless transportation.

The Blackout: A Substation Fire Triggers Citywide Disruption

The crisis began Saturday evening when a fire erupted inside a Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) substation at 8th and Mission streets in downtown San Francisco. The blaze caused extensive damage, leading to cascading outages that affected roughly a third of the utility’s customers across the city.

Neighborhoods including the Presidio, Richmond District, Golden Gate Park, and parts of downtown plunged into darkness, with traffic signals failing at hundreds of intersections.

PG&E described the substation damage as “significant and extensive,” warning that repairs would be complex and time-consuming. By Sunday morning, crews had restored power to about 110,000 customers, leaving approximately 21,000 still without electricity.

The outage disrupted public transit, businesses, and daily life, but its most visible impact played out on the roads, where non-functioning traffic lights created confusion and congestion.

In normal conditions, drivers treat darkened signals as four-way stops, but the scale and duration of this event overwhelmed usual protocols, leading to prolonged delays and aggressive maneuvering.

Waymo’s Struggle: Autonomous Cars Contribute to Gridlock

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving subsidiary and a pioneer in commercial robotaxi services, operates hundreds of vehicles in San Francisco as part of its expanding ride-hailing fleet. The company’s “Waymo Driver” technology is programmed to treat inoperable traffic signals conservatively—as four-way stops—prioritizing safety by yielding until clear.

However, during Saturday’s widespread blackout, this cautious approach backfired in densely trafficked areas. Videos circulating online showed clusters of Waymo vehicles remaining stationary at intersections far longer than typical human drivers would, waiting to confirm safe passage amid chaotic conditions.

The prolonged stops created bottlenecks, with lines of frustrated drivers honking, inching forward, or attempting risky maneuvers around the motionless autonomous cars.

Waymo confirmed it temporarily suspended service Saturday evening in response to the outage. A spokesperson explained to media outlets that while the vehicles functioned correctly according to design, the sheer number of affected intersections and resulting human-driven unpredictability extended wait times beyond normal parameters.

The company emphasized commitment to learning from the event, stating it is “focused on rapidly integrating the lessons learned” to improve handling of large-scale infrastructure failures.

Service resumed progressively on Sunday as power returned and traffic normalized.

Musk’s Swift Response: Highlighting Tesla’s Resilience

Elon Musk, never one to miss an opportunity to promote Tesla’s advancements, quickly seized on the situation. He reposted viral videos of stalled Waymo vehicles on X, captioning one with a direct jab: “Tesla Robotaxis were unaffected by the SF power outage.”

Musk also shared purported footage of a Tesla vehicle using Full Self-Driving (Supervised) smoothly navigating a darkened intersection, proceeding cautiously but without indefinite hesitation. The contrast implied superior adaptability in Tesla’s vision-based system, which relies primarily on cameras and neural networks rather than additional sensors like lidar that competitors favor.

The posts rapidly gained traction, amplifying criticism of Waymo while bolstering Tesla’s narrative of leading toward unsupervised robotaxi deployment. Musk has repeatedly positioned FSD as more robust and cost-effective, arguing its end-to-end neural net approach better mimics human intuition in edge cases.

Why It Matters

This incident exposes fundamental differences in autonomous driving philosophies and their real-world consequences. Waymo’s geofenced, mapping-heavy strategy with redundant sensors (lidar, radar) prioritizes ultra-conservative behavior—erring on excessive caution during anomalies to minimize accident risk.

Tesla’s camera-centric, data-driven model aims for fluidity closer to experienced human driving, accepting calculated progression when safe.

Both approaches have merits: Waymo boasts an exemplary safety record with millions of driverless miles, while Tesla’s FSD handles vastly more varied environments through crowd-sourced data.

Yet blackouts reveal vulnerabilities—Waymo’s strict adherence created secondary congestion hazards, while Tesla’s assertiveness risks misjudgment if perception falters.

Broader implications touch infrastructure fragility: As cities push AV adoption, reliance on consistent power, cellular connectivity, and traffic systems grows. Outages could disproportionately impact certain fleets, influencing regulatory approvals and public trust.

Competitively, the episode bolsters Musk’s robotaxi ambitions. Tesla plans unsupervised FSD rollout in select markets during 2026, with Cybercab production ramping. Waymo, despite leading commercial operations, faces scaling challenges and occasional PR setbacks like this.

Critically, while Musk’s claims hold in this instance, Tesla FSD remains supervised—requiring human oversight—and has faced scrutiny over disengagements or incidents. True resilience comparisons await full unsupervised deployment.

What People Are Saying

Social media erupted with polarized commentary: Tesla supporters celebrated the “win,” sharing memes and praising vision-only superiority. Waymo defenders noted its flawless safety compliance prevented potential collisions amid chaos. Neutral observers highlighted systemic issues—AVs magnifying infrastructure weaknesses.

Analysts view the event as minor but symbolically significant in the AV race, where perception often drives investment and consumer sentiment.

PG&E continues repairs, with full restoration expected soon. San Francisco officials urged caution at remaining dark intersections.

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As robotaxis proliferate—Waymo expanding nationally, Tesla eyeing global unsupervised rollout—incidents like this underscore preparation needs. Companies must refine edge-case handling for power failures, communication loss, or extreme weather. Regulators may mandate backup protocols or minimum human intervention capabilities.

Collaboration with utilities for priority restoration or onboard power reserves could emerge. Public education on interacting with AVs during disruptions becomes crucial.

Ultimately, the blackout served as an unplanned stress test revealing current limitations while foreshadowing a future where autonomous fleets dominate roads. Resilience in adversity will separate leaders. Musk’s opportunistic spotlight ensures the conversation continues, pushing innovation amid competition.