A Waymo robotaxi was swept away in San Antonio last month. That triggered a federal recall and a software fix that even Waymo says is not done yet.
The recall also gave a fresh look at Waymo's fleet size. The company runs about 3,791 robotaxis across roughly a dozen U.S. cities.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, said on Tuesday that Waymo is recalling its fleet. The fix targets how its cars handle flooded roads.
The robotaxis were slowing down when they hit flooded streets but not actually stopping, NHTSA said. That included higher-speed roads, where the risk of a real crash jumps fast.
Waymo decided to issue the recall in late April after its cars struggled with flooding in central Texas. In one case, an empty robotaxi was swept away in San Antonio, and the company paused service in the city.
The first software update limits Waymo cars in places where flash floods are more likely. NHTSA says Waymo is still "developing the final remedy" for the problem.
Want to follow stories like this each morning? Market Briefs breaks down what's actually moving the market in five minutes, plus a free investing masterclass when you sign up.
This is not Waymo's first recall. The first came in February 2024, after two robotaxis in Phoenix each crashed into the same towed car.
Since then, Waymo has issued recalls for:
The flooding recall is the latest in that list. Each new fix is a reminder that scaling a self-driving fleet means running into more weather, more streets, and more edge cases all at once.
In a statement, Waymo said it has put more software safeguards in place. It's also cutting back on operations during heavy rain and limiting access to areas where flash floods can hit.
Texas in particular has been hit with deadly flooding this year. That backdrop makes it harder for any operator to argue a flooded road is a true edge case.
Investors who back Alphabet, Waymo's parent, will be watching the next round of safety data. Each recall chips at the same trust Waymo needs to keep adding cities.
The bigger question for investors is how fast Waymo can keep growing without piling up recalls. The fleet is expanding to more cities, which means more weather, more roads, and more chances for something new to go wrong.
Recalls in self-driving cars aren't like a Ford recall. Most of the fixes are software updates, which can be pushed to the whole fleet in days instead of months.
That speed is one of Waymo's biggest advantages. It also means every new edge case becomes a public test of the company's safety story.
Self-driving fleets need to handle weather, school zones, and crashes at scale. Waymo is finding out one edge case at a time.
If you want this kind of read on tech and markets every morning, sign up for Market Briefs here - it comes with a 45-minute investing course as a free bonus.
