News
SF officials aim to slow Cruise, Waymo robotaxi rollout amid blocked traffic reports, 911 calls
Alphabet-owned Waymo and General Motors-backed Cruise are the only two companies that have been given permission to operate driverless robotaxis in San Francisco streets. But amidst the real-world performance of the robotaxis, some officials have expressed their intentions to slow down the rollout of the self-driving vehicles.
San Francisco’s transportation authorities have asked Waymo and Cruise to slow down the expansion of their self-driving taxi services over safety issues. The request was shared in letters sent to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The San Francisco County Transportation Authority noted that the rapid expansion of the services has been problematic so far, citing incidents where driverless cars caused traffic blockages and interfered with emergency response efforts.
Back in July, several autonomous Cruise vehicles blocked traffic for hours after the robotaxis seemingly stopped working. A similar incident was reported in September. Earlier this month, a Waymo self-driving car caused a traffic jam in San Francisco after it stopped in the middle of an intersection. The issue has caught the eye of regulators, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiating an investigation into Cruise last month over incidents involving the vehicles blocking traffic and causing rear-end collisions from sudden braking.
City officials have raised concerns about the response of autonomous taxis to emergency vehicles. Last April, an autonomous Cruise vehicle was reported to have stopped in a travel lane, blocking a San Francisco Fire Department vehicle that happened to be en route to a three-alarm fire. Some months later, another Cruise vehicle “ran over a fire hose that was in use at an active fire scene.”
A similar incident nearly happened again this month, though firefighters were able to stop the vehicle from hitting the fire hose by smashing one of the driverless car’s windows. Some Cruise vehicles have also summoned 911 over “unresponsive” passengers, though the incidents only involved commuters falling asleep in the robotaxis.
The San Francisco Transportation Authority has noted that it supports the growth of autonomous vehicle technology. However, the agency also noted that there has to be more transparency and additional safety measures for the robotaxis that are already operating on the city’s streets, as well as those that are yet to be deployed.
The authority suggests that companies like Cruise and Waymo must be mandated to gather more data on the vehicles’ performance, including the frequency and duration of traffic blockages. Also, until the time when self-driving cars can consistently operate without disrupting downtown core street operations and transit services during peak travel hours, the authority suggested that the operation of robotaxis from Cruise and Waymo should be limited.
The city officials’ letters to Cruise and Waymo can be viewed below.
Cruise Letter by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
Waymo Letter by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Tesla has launched a new Model Y configuration in the “Premium” trim, and it comes with three highly requested features that have launched in markets outside of the U.S. and in other trims.
Tesla announced on Monday night that it has officially launched the Model Y Premium in a seven-seat configuration, which also comes standard with a 16″ touchscreen and black headliner, both of which are featured in the Model Y Performance trim.
The seven-seat configuration is highly requested by consumers and helps fill out the more spacious SUV offering that the lineup has missed outside of the Model X, which prices out many consumers. This new upgrade only costs $2,500 extra for all three features, bringing the cash price to $48,990.
This also comes with the larger 16” touchscreen! pic.twitter.com/aiAxWUTKZa
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 13, 2026
The move to add the seven-seat configuration with the black headliner and additional screen size is a welcome addition, as many Tesla fans have asked the company to come out with an SUV with more seating capacity. Although it is not a full-size SUV, the additional seating will certainly attract some buyers with bigger families.
It appears the third row is slightly more spacious than the past iteration of the seven-seat Model Y, which was available in the previous design pre-Juniper:
Credit: Tesla
However, it definitely still appears to be pretty cramped in terms of legroom. It will definitely be a seating arrangement for smaller passengers, mostly reserved for children.
The other two upgrades are the black headliner, which was launched in other markets and in the Model Y Performance. Many owners have wanted this change, and Tesla listened, but is only offering it with the seven-seat configuration. It also has a larger 16″ touchscreen, also present in the Model Y Performance exclusively:
Credit: Tesla
It is a nice touch to add these highly requested features to the all-electric crossover, which was the best-selling vehicle in the world for the third consecutive year.
Tesla has expanded its branded ‘For Business’ Supercharger program that it launched last year, as yet another company is using the platform to attract EV owners to its business and utilize a unique advertising opportunity.
Francis Energy of Oklahoma is launching four Superchargers in Norman, where the University of Oklahoma is located. The Superchargers, which are fitted with branding for Francis Energy, will officially open tomorrow.
It will not be the final Supercharger location that Francis Energy plans to open, the company confirmed to EVWire.
Back in early September, Tesla launched the new “Supercharger for Business” program in an effort to give businesses the ability to offer EV charging at custom rates. It would give their businesses visibility and would also cater to employees or customers.
“Purchase and install Superchargers at your business,” Tesla wrote on a page on its website for the new program. “Superchargers are compatible with all electric vehicles, bringing EV drivers to your business by offering convenient, reliable charging.”
The first site opened in Land O’ Lakes, Florida, which is Northeast of Tampa, as a company called Suncoast launched the Superchargers for local EV owners.
Tesla launches its new branded Supercharger for Business with first active station
The program also does a great job at expanding infrastructure for EV owners, which is something that needs to be done to encourage more people to purchase Teslas and other electric cars.
Francis Energy operates at least 14 EV charging locations in Oklahoma, spanning from Durant to Oklahoma City and nearly everywhere in between. Filings from the company, listed by Supercharge.info, show the company’s plans to convert some of them to Tesla Superchargers, potentially utilizing the new Supercharger for Business program to advertise.
Moving forward, more companies will likely utilize Tesla’s Supercharger for Business program as it presents major advantages in a variety of ways, especially with advertising and creating a place for EV drivers to gain range in their cars.
Tesla Cybercab is perhaps the most highly-anticipated project that the company plans to roll out this year, and as it is undergoing its testing phase in pre-production currently, there are some things to work through with it.
Over the weekend, an image of the Cybercab being loaded onto a tow truck started circulating on the internet, and people began to speculate as to what the issue could be.
Hmmmmmm… https://t.co/L5hWcOXQkb pic.twitter.com/OJBDyHNTMj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 11, 2026
The Cybercab can clearly be seen with a Police Officer and perhaps the tow truck driver by its side, being loaded onto, or even potentially unloaded from, the truck.
However, it seems unlikely it was being offloaded, as its operation would get it to this point for testing to begin with.
It appears, at first glance, that it needs assistance getting back to wherever it came from; likely Gigafactory Texas or potentially a Bay Area facility.
The Cybercab was also spotted in Buffalo, New York, last week, potentially undergoing cold-weather testing, but it doesn’t appear that’s where this incident took place.
It is important to remember that the Cybercab is currently undergoing some rigorous testing scenarios, which include range tests and routine public road operation. These things help Tesla assess any potential issue the vehicle could run into after it starts routine production and heads to customers, or for the Robotaxi platform operation.
This is not a one-off issue, either. Tesla had some instances with the Semi where it was seen broken down on the side of a highway three years ago. The all-electric Semi has gone on to be successful in its early pilot program, as companies like Frito-Lay and PepsiCo. have had very positive remarks.
The Cybercab’s future is bright, and it is important to note that no vehicle model has ever gone its full life without a breakdown. It happens, it’s a car.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that there has been no official word on what happened with this particular Cybercab unit, but it is crucial to remember that this is the pre-production testing phase, and these things are more constructive than anything.
Tesla Model Y gets fresh configuration with three highly requested features
Tesla expands its branded ‘For Business’ Superchargers
