Robotaxi Outage in China Leaves Passengers Stranded on Highways

An unknown technical problem caused a number of Baidu robotaxis to freeze in the middle of traffic in Wuhan, China, on Tuesday. Some passengers were trapped inside the vehicles for more than an hour. Photos and videos posted online showed the cars stopped on busy highways, often in the fast lane. A college student identified by her last name, He, told WIRED she was stuck with two friends for about 90 minutes after the car malfunctioned and stopped multiple times. The in-car screen directed passengers to remain seated with seatbelts on and wait for a company representative. He said it took about 30 minutes to reach customer support by phone, but no explanation was provided and no staff arrived. The group eventually exited the vehicle on their own. Other passengers complained on Chinese social media about being unable to reach Baidu support or use the SOS button in the app. One user reported forcing the door open after traffic stopped behind her robotaxi. Wuhan police issued a statement saying the situation was likely caused by a system malfunction and is still under investigation. No one was injured and all passengers have exited the vehicles, police added. At least two collisions involving the malfunctioning robotaxis were reported, according to posts and photos on social media. One driver claimed to have crashed into a stopped vehicle while traveling over 40 mph on a highway. Baidu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.