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California thieves found sand inside the Nvidia-branded trailers The two trailers were parked outside PlusAI's Fremont facility when they were taken overnight. The stolen trailers were later located in Newark, California, roughly half a mile from PlusAI's Fremont warehouse. What was inside the stolen trailers The trailers contained about 20,000 pounds of sand each, giving them a combined load of approximately 40,000 pounds, or 20 tons. How the stolen trailers were found The trailers were eventually spotted in Newark, close to PlusAI's Fremont facility. The trailers had been taken from PlusAI's Fremont facility but were found only about half a mile away in Newark.
Thieves in California ended up with loads of nothing but sand after stealing two Nvidia branded trailers from an autonomous trucking company in California. According to San Francisco Standard, both trailers were branded with Nvidia logos on the side, but were only loaded with a combined 20 tons of sand to simulate real freight during research and development of the autonomous trucks. The employees that contacted police reported that the trucks and trailers had been forcibly separated and the truck cab was moved. :)” The company sent over some employees to confirm the trailers were really theirs, and called police to help them recover the trailers. The company says they believe the Nvidia branding on the side of the trailers prompted the thieves to steal them, assuming there was valuable cargo inside.
The Aurora Driver has safely completed more than 500,000 driverless miles since commercial launch. (Aurora)e) Aurora Innovation expects 30,000 trucks equipped with its Aurora Driver platform to be on the road in North America in 2030, with the vast majority utilizing a soon-to-be-available self-driving truck configuration intended to transform Aurora’s finances. By the end of 2026, Aurora will be operating 200 driverless International Motors LT Series trucks, which will provide an $80 million annualized revenue run rate. But Maday told investors the fleet will be limited to 500 trucks. He added that the company would see positive free cash flow on a run-rate basis in 2028 with roughly 7,500 trucks on the road.
Kodiak AI has chosen the Dallas–Houston corridor for its first driverless highway freight service, which it plans to launch by the end of 2026. For now, a safety observer remains in the cab. Since 2019, it has hauled freight between Dallas and Houston with safety drivers aboard, logging more than 3.5 million autonomous miles on the route, according to the company. Getting Ready for Driverless Operations Kodiak began daily preparation runs using its planned driverless hardware and software in August. As of the end of August, Kodiak said 93% of the claims and evidence in its long-haul safety case were materially complete.
Aurora Innovation, Inc. engages in the self-driving technology business in the United States. It focuses on developing Aurora Driver, a platform that brings a suite of self-driving hardware, software, and data services together to adapt and interoperate various vehicle types and applications. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. aurora.tech
The biggest operational change from autonomous trucks may happen beyond the truck itself. Waabi COO Lior Ron points to fleet network planning as an area that will take considerable rework. Ron asked fleets to consider what happens when driver hours-of-service limitations no longer constrain how long an autonomous asset can operate. He said that could change how fleets plan longer lanes, assign teams, and calculate equipment utilization. Fleets may need to reconsider how freight, assets, and capacity move through the entire network when driver time no longer sets the same operating boundary.
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Two large trailers prominently displaying Nvidia logos were stolen in California, only for the thieves to abandon the cargo roughly 800 meters into their getaway. The culprits were after expensive AI chips, but the trailers actually contained 18 tons of test sand. The trailers had large PlusAI and Nvidia logos affixed to their exteriors. A senior PlusAI executive received a call from an acquaintance who said they had spotted the trailers near the company. PlusAI said both trailers were recovered along with the sand inside, and the trailers themselves sustained no significant damage.
Port of Antwerp-Bruges Moves Autonomous Mobility from Demonstration to Implementation at Second Autonomous Summit Port of Antwerp-Bruges plans to use the second Autonomous Summit to illustrate how self-driving systems are being deployed across a broader range of uses and on a bigger scale, the port authority said. According to the port authority, the following step will materialise this autumn through the first commercial scheme using a driverless truck to move containers linking the Left and Right Banks. Attendees may also board a PIX Moving autonomous shuttle, observe a crash test dummy operated remotely, or find out about Tesla Full Self-Driving technology. The port authority stated its goal is to foster conditions in which innovations can be trialled, brought into use and expanded, thereby accelerating deployment and boosting European competitiveness. The port authority argued that ports suit the testing and expansion of autonomous technology owing to their heavy traffic volumes, predictable transport patterns and comparatively controlled surroundings.
The company expects to go from 200 driverless trucks at the end of 2026 to more than 1,000 a year later. Today, Aurora operates what it calls a transportation-as-a-service business — a proof-of-concept model that it plans to limit to about 500 trucks. Instead of Aurora owning the trucks, customers will buy the self-driving trucks and pay Aurora a per-mile subscription fee for the self-driving technology, which the company expects to be about $0.85. Under this model, the customers will own and maintain the truck, while Aurora maintains the self-driving system and its accompanying hardware. By 2030, the company expects to grow beyond a few states in the South to the vast majority of the continental U.S., according to Maday.
PrePass recently integrated Enhanced Inspection information from Kodiak AI into established state roadside screening and enforcement systems. The company, which provides weigh-station bypass, toll payment, safety, and compliance solutions, is using its platform to connect inspection information with enforcement personnel. The automated process allows enforcement personnel to verify inspection information, authorize bypasses, and provide additional instructions when needed. Instead, it makes inspection information available through established roadside screening systems. “PrePass has spent years preparing for this future through federal research, collaboration with state agencies and continued investment in roadside screening technology.
In autonomos and self-Driving behicle news news are Waymo, ComEd, TIER IV, Einride, Hyundai, AEye, Witherite, Aurora, NHTSA, Volvo and Arbe Robotics. The program taps into the tap-to-pay infrastructure already used across 27 regional transit agencies, and is launching first to Waymo employees before opening more broadly. Einride, and Nvidia Team Up to Scale Autonomous Freight Einride has partnered with Nvidia to adapt Nvidia’s Drive Hyperion compute and sensor architecture for its heavy-duty autonomous trucks. Hyundai plans to bring an upgraded driver-assistance suite running on Nvidia compute to market by 2028, with urban-capable autonomous driving targeted for consumer vehicles by 2029. The crashes — involving vehicles striking stationary or slow-moving traffic — caused three deaths across two incidents and injured 11 people.
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) is trying to move from autonomous-truck commercialization toward profitability by rapidly expanding its driverless fleet. Aurora expects 2026 revenue of $14 million to $16 million and an $80 million exit revenue run rate. Driverless Fleet Expansion Could Unlock Operating Leverage for Aurora The strongest argument for Aurora Innovation, Inc. is that fleet expansion could materially improve its economics. Aurora May Need More Capital Before its Economics Fully Scale Aurora Innovation, Inc. still has a substantial financial gap to close. Conclusion Aurora Innovation, Inc.’s latest plans establish a clearer path from limited commercial operations to a potentially high-margin DaaS business.
Gross margin breakeven moves to 2027 By the end of 2027, Aurora expects more than 1,000 trucks and roughly $200 million in revenue. “30,000 trucks does sound like a lot to some people. Aurora expects those trucks to average roughly 200,000 miles a year at about $2 per mile, including a fuel surcharge. Maday expects miles per truck to climb closer to 250,000 a year as carriers run the trucks through their own networks. He said 10% to 15% of his trucks’ miles are sometimes off-road, which puts maintenance at the center of the ownership decision.
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Abstract According to the latest IndexBox report on the global Mining Material Handling Equipment market, the market enters 2026 with broader demand fundamentals, more disciplined procurement behavior, and a more regionally diversified supply architecture. The global mining material handling equipment market is entering a transformative phase as the extractive industries pivot toward energy transition metals and operational decarbonization. The baseline scenario for the world mining material handling equipment market from 2026 to 2035 anticipates steady expansion, supported by sustained capital expenditure in mining projects and the accelerating shift toward critical minerals extraction. Underground Mining (estimated share: 20%) Underground mining operations require specialized material handling equipment that can operate in confined spaces and harsh conditions. Market Outlook (2026-2035) In the baseline scenario, IndexBox estimates a 4.5% compound annual growth rate for the global mining material handling equipment market over 2026-2035, bringing the market index to roughly 155 by 2035 (2025=100).
Evercore ISI added Aurora to its Tactical Outperform list on September 15, ahead of the Investor Day, citing potential for a 10% to 15% near term move in the stock. The September 23 Investor Day gave bulls a number to underwrite: more than 30,000 driverless trucks by 2030, at gross margins CFO David Maday compared to a software business. The firm called the Investor Day an incremental positive but said the driverless demos and OEM participation on display also pointed to a slower, costlier ramp than previously modeled. D E Shaw, the largest holder, cut its stake 24% to 22.4 million shares worth $152.6 million, while Durable Capital Partners grew its position 633% to 10.9 million shares worth $74.3 million. Short interest remains on the higher side at 17.98% of the float as of September 15, 2026, up from 174.94 million shares a month earlier to 198.26 million shares.
In the United States, a bizarre incident occurred in which thieves stole a large trailer bearing the logo of Nvidia, an artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company, only to discover that it was filled with sand. This sand was research cargo, loaded to match weight for testing the transportation capabilities of autonomous trucks instead of actual goods. The company suggested that the perpetrators might have assumed the trailers contained valuable AI equipment upon seeing the Nvidia and PlusAI logos. Wired reported that there has been a rise in organized thefts targeting trucks transporting AI data center equipment. Servers and network equipment used in AI data centers have also become targets of theft.
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Autonomous vehicle technology is not yet ubiquitous or mainstream. Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com. And don’t forget just last week the U.S.-based autonomous vehicle company May Mobility said it planned to go public via a merger with a blank-check company.