A former Apple and Uber engineer raised $51 million to rethink the self-driving truck

Many self-driving truck companies are trying to teach existing trucks to drive themselves.

The San Francisco startup, which is building electric self-driving trucks without drivers' cabs, has raised $51 million, the company exclusively told Business Insider.

He worked on Apple's now-defunct self-driving car project, Uber's autonomous driving effort, and at self-driving trucking startup Waabi.

But self-driving trucks are a reminder of how difficult it is to get machines to work in the real world.

Self-driving trucks were once expected to hit the road before robotaxis.