Baidu’s Robotaxis Froze Mid-Drive in Wuhan, Trapping Passengers

Dozens of Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis stopped dead on Wuhan streets Tuesday, leaving passengers stuck inside vehicles and causing traffic chaos across the city. Police received multiple reports of the autonomous vehicles grinding to a halt mid-drive with no way to move forward.

The frozen robotaxis created a pileup of stranded commuters on highways. At least one accident resulted from the snarled traffic, though Wuhan police confirmed no injuries have been reported so far.

Baidu, China’s largest search engine and AI company, operates Apollo Go as its robotaxi service. The company hasn’t yet explained why the fleet malfunctioned or how widespread the problem is.