A Waymo vehicle pictured on January 15, 2026 in Austin, Texas. A Waymo vehicle pictured on January 15, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Welcome back to, TIME's new twice-weekly newsletter about AI. If you're reading this in your browser, why not subscribe to have the next one delivered straight to your inbox? On Wednesday night, I went to a press event in London hosted by the Google-owned robotaxi firm Waymo, which announced it was aiming to make driverless taxis available to Londoners by the fourth quarter of 2026. Even though Waymos have been driving autonomously in a handful of U.S. cities for years now, it's worth paying attention to what's going on in London.

A blackout in San Francisco revealed a new way for robotaxis to go wrong. Waymo's self-driving robotaxis can successfully nail a tricky left turn, weave through lanes to drop you off at the airport, and safely pass a U-Haul that's idling in the middle of the street. But during a blackout, they apparently turn into four-wheel bricks. On Saturday, when a major power outage in San Francisco knocked out traffic signals, many Waymo vehicles didn't pull over to the side of the road or seek out a parking space. Nor did they treat intersections as four-way stops, as a human would have. Instead, they just sat there with their hazard lights on, like a student driver freezing up before their big parallel-parking test.

LG TVs add'delete' option for Copilot The blackout knocked out traffic lights, causing the robo-taxis to get stuck at intersections. Waymo has resumed its robo-taxi service in San Francisco after a power outage stranded vehicles around the city, reported. The blackout, caused by a Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) substation fire, caused traffic light disruptions that affected Waymo's automated driving systems. Yesterday's power outage was a widespread event that caused gridlock across San Francisco, with non-functioning traffic signals and transit disruptions, a Waymo spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. While the failure of the utility infrastructure was significant, we are committed to ensuring our technology adjusts to traffic flow during such events.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Woman gives birth in a driverless Waymo taxi in San Francisco. Waymo taxis navigate a street in San Francisco in 2023. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here .

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Santa Monica orders Waymo to stop noisy overnight operations at charging stations. Self-driving vehicles charge at the Waymo station at the corner of Euclid Street and Broadway in Santa Monica. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here .

As Los Angeles police struggled with another day of unrest in downtown L.A., several Waymo autonomous taxis were set on fire, sending black smoke billowing into the air. The dramatic images were captured during an afternoon of clashes between large groups who were protesting immigration raids by the Trump administration and L.A. police who were trying to maintain order. For some time, protesters blocked traffic on the 101 Freeway before California Highway Patrol officers slowly pushed them back. Police advised residents to avoid the the 101 Freeway through downtown L.A. Images of the Waymo cars on fire on Los Angeles Street were broadcast nationally as Los Angeles has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate. Tires were slashed, windows smashed, and anti-ICE messages spray-painted over the cars, which were parked in a row.

SAE Level 4 Automated Driving Systems (ADSs) are deployed on public roads, including Waymo's Rider-Only (RO) ride-hailing service (without a driver behind the steering wheel). The objective of this study was to perform a retrospective safety assessment of Waymo's RO crash rate compared to human benchmarks, including disaggregated by crash type. Eleven crash type groups were identified from commonly relied upon crash typologies that are derived from human crash databases. Human benchmarks were aligned to the same vehicle types, road types, and locations as where the Waymo Driver operated. Waymo crashes were extracted from the NHTSA Standing General Order (SGO). RO mileage was provided by the company via a public website. Any-injury-reported, Airbag Deployment, and Suspected Serious Injury+ crash outcomes were examined because they represented previously established, safety-relevant benchmarks where statistical testing could be performed at the current mileage. Data was examined over 56.7 million RO miles through the end of January 2025, resulting in a statistically significant lower crashed vehicle rate for all crashes compared to the benchmarks in Any-Injury-Reported and Airbag Deployment, and Suspected Serious Injury+ crashes. Of the crash types, V2V Intersection crash events represented the largest total crash reduction, with a 96% reduction in Any-injury-reported (87%-99% CI) and a 91% reduction in Airbag Deployment (76%-98% CI) events. Cyclist, Motorcycle, Pedestrian, Secondary Crash, and Single Vehicle crashes were also statistically reduced for the Any-Injury-Reported outcome. There was no statistically significant disbenefit found in any of the 11 crash type groups. This study represents the first retrospective safety assessment of an RO ADS that made statistical conclusions about more serious crash outcomes and analyzed crash rates on a crash type basis.

Los Angeles commuters: Don't be alarmed, but driverless taxis may soon become a more common site on local streets. On March 1, state regulators gave Waymo, the self-driving taxi company owned by Google's parent, Alphabet, the green light to expand its robotaxi service to Los Angeles County, clearing the way for the company's expansion into one of the biggest markets in the country. While local transportation agencies deal with day-to-day traffic operations in their respective jurisdictions, the California Public Utilities Commission oversees the regulation of driverless vehicles across the state, superseding local governments. Waymo has not disclosed a timeline for when its service will become widely available, but a handful of Waymo vehicles are already roaming about the county, including around the USC campus, as part of its ongoing testing and promotion program. Under its new approval agreement, Waymo's driverless fleet can operate in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Inglewood, East Los Angeles, Compton and many more locales.

An unhoused man was taken into custody on suspicion of grand theft auto after police said he tried to steal a Waymo self-driving car in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night. The man entered and tried to operate a Waymo vehicle that had stopped to let out a passenger at the corner of 1st and Main at 10:30 p.m., LAPD Det. After the man, whom a Waymo spokesman described as an "unauthorized pedestrian," entered the vehicle, the company's Rider Support team instructed him to exit the car. When he did not, the company contacted the police, "who were then able to remove and arrest" the man, said Chris Bonelli, a Waymo spokesman. Vincent Maurice Jones, 34, was arrested at 12:15 a.m.

Another California community is raising concerns about plans to unleash the Waymo self-driving vehicle in its jurisdiction, following several incidents involving autonomous ride-hailing cars that resulted in injuries. San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area, has requested more information from state regulators before allowing Google-owned Waymo to operate its driverless vehicles in the county. San Mateo County made the request after Waymo submitted a letter Jan. 19 to the California Public Utilities Commission, asking the agency to approve its proposed expansion of its Automated Vehicle Passenger Services into portions of the San Francisco Peninsula, which includes San Mateo County, as well as the southwest region of Los Angeles County. The company has already been serving a portion of San Francisco, from Lands End to Bernal Heights. The autonomous car began offering rides for a limited time in November in Santa Monica, Century City, West Hollywood, Mid-City Koreatwon and downtown L.A., giving residents a chance at testing the driverless ride.