Dozens of Waymo robotaxis were disrupted by holiday traffic during San Francisco's July 4th fireworks; a handful ran out of charge and had to be towed, while one drove through an exploding firework in the Mission. The company blamed "extreme traffic congestion."

San Francisco's biggest fireworks show in years on July 4th turned into another unplanned stress test for Waymo's fleet — and the cars failed it in at least two visible ways.

According to reporting by the SF Standard, apparently dozens of Waymo robotaxis were disrupted by the holiday gridlock around northern San Francisco, with stalled vehicles concentrated on streets in the Presidio. Some idled long enough to drain their batteries entirely; Waymo confirmed those had to be towed. One SF Standard reader said he was stuck behind stalled Waymos for four hours near the Palace of Fine Arts. Another said his kids couldn't get home until tow trucks arrived to load idled robotaxis off the road.

Separately, a video circulating on social media showed a Waymo driving directly into a detonating firework at a Mission intersection, colorful smoke enveloping the vehicle as a passenger asked whether the car was on fire. Waymo told CBS San Francisco that no injuries were reported and the vehicle was unscathed.

The company — which operates 577 robotaxis and runs approximately 500,000 paid rides weekly across 10 cities, per its own figures — said in a public statement that "extreme traffic congestion in northern San Francisco disrupted normal operations for several Waymo vehicles." A spokesperson added that the company "worked quickly to clear our vehicles from the area" in coordination with the San Francisco Emergency Operations Center, where it had preemptively embedded a staffer.

Charles Lutvak, spokesman for Mayor Daniel Lurie, acknowledged the disruptions and said the city would "have conversations with our public and private partners to ensure the experience is smoother next time."

The exact number of vehicles towed has not been disclosed. What's becoming a pattern is harder to wave off: last December, a PG&E blackout stranded hundreds of Waymos citywide, required staff or tow trucks to retrieve 64 cars, and led to a Board of Supervisors hearing at which Waymo acknowledged it should have coordinated better with the city. The July 4th disruptions raise the same question the company still hasn't fully answered — how it plans to handle predictable, large-scale urban stress before the next one arrives.