Economic Implications of Autonomous Vehicle ReliabilityThe economic implications of the reliability of autonomous vehicles are profound, particularly in light of recent events in San Francisco. During a major power outage on December 20, 2025, Waymo's driverless vehicles, reliant on lidar and radar technologies, were unable to function properly, stopping abruptly at darkened intersections with hazard lights flashing. This incident, highlighted in a LiveMint report, underscores the potential vulnerabilities in systems that depend heavily on existing infrastructure like traffic lights. In contrast, Tesla's robotaxis reportedly continued operations seamlessly during the blackout, leveraging their Full Self-Driving (FSD) system that relies more on end-to-end neural networks and camera-based vision. [According to LiveMint](https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/elon-musk-boasts-tesla-services-unaffect-waymo-driverless-vehicles-froze-traffic-san-francisco-power-outage-watch-videos-11766365397467.html), the market confidence in Tesla's FSD could potentially boost its market valuation, while increasing skepticism and potential operational costs associated with more infrastructure-dependent systems like Waymo's.

Source: Mint December 22, 2025 11:18 UTC