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 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 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 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.