Robotaxi outage leaves passengers stranded in Wuhan
AP News • • business
Key Points:
- Over 100 Baidu-operated robotaxis in Wuhan, China, experienced a mass shutdown due to a "system malfunction," leaving passengers stranded in fast-moving traffic, according to police and media reports.
- No injuries were reported, but some passengers had to exit their vehicles on busy elevated ring roads, while others were hesitant to leave due to safety concerns.
- The incident marks the first reported large-scale robotaxi stoppage in China, similar to a previous shutdown of Waymo's self-driving cars in San Francisco caused by a power outage.
- Baidu, a major Chinese AI company expanding its Apollo Go robotaxi service internationally, has not yet commented on the malfunction.
- The shutdown began around 9 p.m., with multiple passengers reportedly rescued, highlighting challenges in autonomous vehicle safety and reliability in urban traffic.
