Driverless Trucks Are Already Delivering to Walmart. Can Your Operation Afford to Wait? PepsiCo has 41 driverless trucks on the road. The economics are starting to make sense for other companies, too. By Ashley Prince | June 16, 2026 PepsiCo has gone all-in on driverless trucks. The food and beverage giant has been testing autonomous trucks via its partnership with Gatik since 2022, finally removing human backup drivers from the cabs on public roads last summer. This month, PepsiCo and Gatik announced a multi-year strategic partnership to expand the operation to approximately 250 retail locations across Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas. The autonomous trucks will deliver to retailers like Walmart and Dollar General with no driver or observer in the cab. It is the largest commercial autonomous freight deployment on record. “Serving our vast network of customers requires a supply chain that is safe, reliable, and built for the future,” said Jim Farrell, senior vice president of supply chain at PepsiCo. “Gatik is already operating inside our networks and brings the autonomous freight technology, commercial experience and scale we need to strengthen service, add capacity and move products more consistently for our customers.” PepsiCo and Gatik have proven that the technology can work, providing a use case for other supply chain managers considering an investment in autonomous. From an economic standpoint, the available data suggests the business case may be catching up to the technology. The Economics of Hiring Humans In today’s labor market, the median age of a truck driver is 57. The American Trucking Associations projects the industry will need to recruit 1.2 million new drivers over the next decade to replace retiring workers and meet freight demand. That kind of effort comes with a high price tag. In addition to an aging workforce, the trucking industry has grappled