Commercial robot incidents, December 2025
16 commercial robot incidents dated December 2025 so far (provisional, verification backlog), 10 with a person hurt and 0 fatal. 0 cases were added to the register during the month. Most involved Waymo (9). Largest class: autonomous vehicles (12).
Provisional. 37 reports published in or just after this month are still in the verification queue, so the count will rise as they clear. A lower figure here means a slower queue, not fewer incidents.
Incidents are counted by the date they happened, 2025-12-01 to 2025-12-31. Counts measure what was reported in the press the register reads and cleared verification; fleet sizes are not public, so nothing here is a rate. The register holds 255 cases in all. Rules on the methodology page. Previous month: November 2025. Quarterly view: the quarterly record.
By kind of machine
- Autonomous vehicles12
- Humanoids3
- delivery1
By company
- Waymo9
- Tesla2
- Baidu1
By outcome
- minor injury8
- no harm6
- serious injury2
The cases that reached furthest
Ordered by severity, then by how many independent sources the case rests on.
- 2025-12-07A Baidu Apollo RT6 robotaxi operated by Hello collided with two pedestrians on Yanjiang Road in Zhuzhou, China, trapping one person beneath the vehicle; both a man and a woman were transported to the ICU.Regulator action
- 2025-12-03Tesla Autopilot disengaged mid-curve on a rural road in Cocoa, Florida on December 3, 2025, causing a collision with a utility pole that seriously injured the front-seat passenger.Lawsuit
- 2025-12-29A humanoid robot kicked a man in the groin area during a sparring session, drawing Elon Musk's reaction.Report
- 2025-12-28Man wearing motion capture suit suffered injury while controlling a Unitree G1 humanoid robotReport
- 2025-12-09A delivery robot rammed into the back of a pedestrian's leg in Lincoln Park, Chicago, prompting a petition calling for a pause on robot deliveries citing collisions with people, pets, and bicyclists.Report
All 16 incidents dated December 2025
Newest first. Each one links to its timeline and to the sources it rests on. Case metadata is CC BY 4.0; cite the register by its DOI, 10.5281/zenodo.22925531.
- 2025-12-29A humanoid robot kicked a man in the groin area during a sparring session, drawing Elon Musk's reaction.Report
- 2025-12-28Man wearing motion capture suit suffered injury while controlling a Unitree G1 humanoid robotReport
- 2025-12-23Amazon's Zoox recalls 332 US robotaxi vehicles due to a software error.Recall
- 2025-12-20During a widespread power outage affecting approximately 130,000 PG&E customers in San Francisco, multiple Waymo robotaxis stalled in traffic and clogged roadways, prompting the company to suspend its ride-hailing service until the following day.Report
- 2025-12-14A Waymo robotaxi stalled on a narrow bridge over the Venice Canals during a holiday boat parade, causing a 45-minute traffic backup of at least a mile.Report
- 2025-12-12Three Waymo robotaxis became deadlocked on a San Francisco street after two navigated into a dead end and a third behaved erratically, requiring a human Waymo employee to manually move each vehicle.Report
- 2025-12-09A delivery robot rammed into the back of a pedestrian's leg in Lincoln Park, Chicago, prompting a petition calling for a pause on robot deliveries citing collisions with people, pets, and bicyclists.Report
- 2025-12-07A Baidu Apollo RT6 robotaxi operated by Hello collided with two pedestrians on Yanjiang Road in Zhuzhou, China, trapping one person beneath the vehicle; both a man and a woman were transported to the ICU.Regulator action
- 2025-12-06A Tesla Optimus humanoid robot fell backward during a public demonstration at a Tesla store in Miami, dropping water bottles and making hand motions consistent with a teleoperation headset being removed.Follow-up
- 2025-12-05Waymo announced a voluntary software recall after its robotaxis were found to have illegally passed stopped school buses with extended stop signs and flashing lights on multiple occasions in Atlanta and Austin, with no injuries reported.Recall
- 2025-12-03Tesla Autopilot disengaged mid-curve on a rural road in Cocoa, Florida on December 3, 2025, causing a collision with a utility pole that seriously injured the front-seat passenger.Lawsuit
- 2025-12-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with non-motorist: cyclist in Palo Alto, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2025-12-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with passenger car in Phoenix, AZ, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2025-12-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with passenger car in Atlanta, GA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2025-12-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in San Francisco, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2025-12-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with van in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
The next roundup, and every case before it, by email
Every case added to the register in the last seven days, with its sources. Free, no account, and the register is the only sender.