Applied Intuition, US, and HUMAIN partner to deploy autonomous trucks in Saudi Arabia
On August 31, Applied Intuition and HUMAIN, a PIF company, announced a collaboration to deploy thousands of autonomous trucks throughout key logistics corridors by 2030 in Saudi Arabia. They will establish a foundational framework for autonomy across the Kingdom. Future phases of the collaboration will explore expans....
This news is for paid members only.
If you register as a free member, you can read the rest of this article for a limited time.
In addition, you can also enjoy the following content for free:
- Market & Tech Reports
- Global automotive production/sales
- Launch schedule forecasts
- Latest news on the automotive industry
- Market share and supply information of 300 automotive parts (Who Supplies Whom)
Sep 1, 2026 · via marklines.com
How China’s top 2 container ports became the world’s busiest – and beat Singapore The nation’s ports claimed six of the top 10 busiest worldwide, according to a prominent data provider China’s Yangtze River Delta is now home to the world’s two busiest container ports, a milestone that one industry analyst said reflects the continued resilience of the country’s export sector and the tech-driven efficiency of its maritime hubs. The Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in eastern China’s Zhejiang province overtook the Port of Singapore to become the world’s second-busiest container port in the first half of 2026, according to France-based shipping data provider Alphaliner. During the period, Ningbo-Zhoushan handled 22.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) – a standard measure for cargo container volume – compared with Singapore’s 22.74 million TEU. Shanghai, which has held the top spot for years, saw 28.7 million TEU flow through its berths. The two Chinese ports sit less than 100km (62.1 miles) apart. Qu Ke, a transport analyst at CCB International in Hong Kong, said the strength of Chinese ports had been propelled by efficiency gains and the large-scale adoption of smart technologies. “Autonomous trucks, cranes and automatic loading and unloading are becoming a usual sight at Chinese ports, leading to better safety and efficiency,” Qu said. “This is also supported by sound infrastructure, including roads and railways, for seamless, intermodal logistics to continuously feed containers to these ports.”
Sep 1, 2026 · via scmp.com
About
Press
Copyright
Contact us
Creators
Advertise
Developers
Terms
Privacy
Policy & Safety
How YouTube works
Test new features
NFL Sunday Ticket
© 2026 Google LLC
Sep 1, 2026 · via youtube.com
Autonomous Freight Is Moving From Experimentation Toward Commercial Logistics Autonomous trucking has spent years occupying an uncomfortable position in logistics. The technology has advanced rapidly, demonstrations have become increasingly sophisticated, and investment has remained substantial. But the central question for logistics operators has always been more practical: when does autonomous freight become a repeatable commercial operation rather than a technology demonstration? Recent developments suggest that transition is beginning to become more visible. Autonomous trucking company Gatik announced a $200 million Series D financing round on August 25. The size of the investment is significant, but the more consequential story for logistics is the operating activity behind it. The company says it has completed approximately 85,000 fully driverless commercial orders and has accumulated more than $600 million in contracted revenue. Those figures are company-reported and should not be treated as independently verified operating benchmarks. Nevertheless, they illustrate the increasing commercial maturity of a segment that has historically been dominated by pilots and demonstrations. A Different Approach to Autonomous Trucking Gatik’s approach differs from some of the more ambitious autonomous-trucking strategies pursued over the past decade. Rather than beginning with the objective of automating virtually any long-haul trucking environment, the company has concentrated on high-frequency regional movements between distribution centers, warehouses, and stores—more constrained operating environments than generalized long-haul trucking. The distinction matters because logistics environments vary considerably in complexity. A truck repeatedly traveling between known facilities along established routes presents a more bounded operating problem than a vehicle expected to operate across a broad range of origins, destinations, road conditions, and transportation scenarios. For autonomous freight, these constrained operating domains can create an important path toward commercialization. Companies can concentrate technology, mapping, operating procedures, and exception management around routes where shipment frequency is high and operating conditions are comparatively predictable. The
Sep 1, 2026 · via logisticsviewpoints.com
Driverless trucks may seem to be a thing of the future, but it's coming faster than we think, and it's being tested right in our backyard. What does it mean for a truck to have no driver? How does it work? Is it safe? Meta will soon be signing a very large check: a $16.7 billion check to be exact with money flowing to dozens of states, including $319 million to Ohio. The tech giant also pledged to make substantial changes to the platform to protect kids. So what exactly will be different? Are you looking to upgrade your old iPhone? It might be best to wait to save on deals. Apple typically releases its new models in September. This year it might include a foldable iPhone. And what if earbuds could listen and hear? We're discussing all of these topics on this week's edition of Tech Tuesday. Guests: - Abbi Failla, chief administrative officer, EASE - Paresh Dave, senior writer, WIRED - Russell Holly, director of commerce content, CNET Transcript This transcript is generated with AI. To ensure its accuracy, review the audio file. Amy Juravich: Welcome to Tech Tuesday from All Sides with Amy Juravich, a show where we share stories about science, technology, and the future of our environment. Driverless trucks may seem like a thing from the future, but it's coming faster than we think, and it's being tested right in our own backyard. What does it mean for a truck to have no driver? How does it work? Is it safe? These questions and more will be answered by Abbi Failla, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief of Staff to the CEO of Ease Logistics. Welcome to the show, Abbi. Abbi Failla: Well, thank you for having me. Juravich: So firstly, can you tell me about
Sep 1, 2026 · via wosu.org
(CLO) The self-driving car market is currently experiencing significant growth, primarily driven by Level 4 robotaxies and commercial autonomous trucks, while the market for personal vehicles remains limited. Công Luận•01/09/2026 The self-driving car market is entering a real growth phase with millions of automated rides per week performed by robotaxi services and commercial autonomous trucks, although the proportion of self-driving personal vehicles remains very small compared to the total number of vehicles. The current self-driving vehicle market is primarily developing in the Level 4 commercial segment, including robotaxies and autonomous trucks, while personal vehicles with Level 3 autonomous systems still account for a very small percentage. Robotaxi services have progressed through the testing phase, with Waymo completing over 500,000 autonomous rides per week and Apollo Go peaking at over 350,000 rides, totaling approximately one million rides per week globally. However, compared to the traditional transportation market, the market share of self-driving cars remains very small. For example, Uber handles nearly 300 million trips per week, of which self-driving cars account for less than 0.5%. This shows rapid growth but starting from a very low scale. The US and China have different approaches to developing self-driving cars. The US has Waymo as the largest commercial operator, while China has many competitors such as Apollo Go, Pony.ai, and WeRide with significant fleet sizes and revenues. Chinese companies have also made strides in reducing the cost of self-driving hardware by 50% to 70%. Fleet economics is becoming as important as autonomous driving performance. Pony.ai reports that some of its seventh-generation robotaxis have reached break-even in the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Meanwhile, autonomous trucks have also crossed a crucial commercial threshold, with Aurora completing hundreds of thousands of miles of unmanned transport, although revenue and vehicle numbers are still small compared to the
Sep 1, 2026 · via vietnam.vn
China accelerates AI integration with transportation Autonomous new energy mine trucks work in an open mine in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo/He Long) From autonomous vehicles navigating city streets and drones conducting inspections to robots sorting parcels at delivery centers, China is accelerating the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the transportation sector, opening up new applications across roads, railways, aviation, ports and postal services. From intelligent driving and smart highways to automated sorting and drone-based inspections, AI is increasingly being deployed to improve transport efficiency, safety and services. In June, China's Ministry of Transport, together with four other government departments, issued an action plan for innovation in typical application scenarios of "AI + transportation." The plan envisages that by 2030, a new wave of infrastructure, technical equipment, service models, and industrial forms driven by "AI + transportation" will emerge. How will innovation in these application scenarios be advanced? And how can AI help drive high-quality development in transportation? People's Daily spoke with officials and industry experts. On the Beijing-Xiong'an Expressway, AI-powered technologies are becoming part of the driving experience throughout the one-hour journey. A dedicated mini program provides drivers with real-time traffic updates. Smart roadside poles flash yellow in heavy fog, helping drivers identify their position on the road. At toll stations, robots dispense tickets automatically, helping shorten waiting times. "Through cooperation with Baidu AI Cloud and leveraging large-scale AI models, the Beijing-Xiong'an Expressway achieves second-level alert push and one-click notification for abnormal incidents, with an accuracy rate of over 95 percent in identifying emergencies," said an executive from Hebei Expressway Group, which manages the expressway. As roads become smarter, vehicles are becoming more intelligent, too. "In recent years, we have accelerated the integration of AI with transportation, focusing on infrastructure, vehicles and equipment, transport services and
Sep 1, 2026 · via en.people.cn
HUMAIN to Build World’s Largest Autonomous Trucking Network The Saudi–Silicon Valley tie-up pairs HUMAIN’s sovereign AI infrastructure with Applied Intuition’s autonomy stack, targeting national-scale logistics and future robotaxis and industrial use cases. HUMAIN and Silicon Valley-based Applied Intuition have announced a strategic collaboration to deploy physical AI systems across Saudi Arabia, beginning with autonomous trucking. The partnership will combine HUMAIN’s sovereign AI infrastructure with Applied Intuition’s autonomy technology, which includes software for vehicle intelligence, autonomous driving, simulation and vehicle operating systems. Applied Intuition describes its platform as an end-to-end stack for developing and operating intelligent moving machines. The initial focus will be autonomous trucks, with the companies targeting deployment at national scale rather than a limited pilot. Applied Intuition has framed the Saudi programme around potentially deploying thousands of autonomous trucks, although specific routes, fleet operators and launch dates have not yet been disclosed. Applied Intuition’s autonomy stack is designed to cover several layers of an autonomous vehicle system, including perception, decision-making, simulation and validation. Its sensor simulation tools can generate synthetic camera, lidar and radar data, allowing autonomous systems to be trained and tested against scenarios that may be difficult or unsafe to reproduce repeatedly on public roads. The collaboration is expected to extend beyond trucking over time. Future use cases identified by the companies include robotaxis and autonomous systems for industrial environments, placing the partnership within a wider push to apply AI to machines that perceive and act in the physical world. - Previous Article Cairo's Lazuli to Host All-Day Party 'Dafunk' September 11th - Next Article Al Ain Sisters Launch Emirati Building-Block Sets in Abu Dhabi
Sep 1, 2026 · via cairoscene.com
Over $30M linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group moved through Hyperliquid's service, raising scrutiny.
More than $30 million connected to the North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group was routed through Hyperliquid's HyperUnit service, according to a report by Arkham researcher Emmett Gallic on August 31. These funds were converted from Bitcoin to Ethe...
Sep 1, 2026 · via pluang.com
Senate Bill 1213 has passed its final vote and is headed to Governor Gavin Newsom, where it would tie a manufacturer’s eligibility for California’s zero-emission truck incentive programs to disclosing what those trucks cost. Under the bill, original equipment manufacturers must submit vehicle pricing data, including manufacturers’ suggested retail prices, to remain eligible for state incentive programs such as the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, known as HVIP. Reporting starts January 1, 2027, and covers quarterly MSRPs for zero-emission models sold in California along with final itemized purchase orders showing the base unit price and separate lines for warranties, taxes, fees, and service agreements. The bill carries enforcement. A manufacturer that does not meet the reporting requirements faces suspension of that model’s eligibility for state incentives, and the California Air Resources Board is authorized to recover funds disbursed on the basis of false data. On the voucher side, SB 1213 directs CARB to reevaluate voucher caps annually, with attention to fleets serving disadvantaged communities. As reported in April, the bill would also allow vouchers to cover as much as 90% of total vehicle purchase cost, including taxes and delivery fees. The bill separately directs state agencies to examine alternative financing mechanisms, including low-cost loans and residual value guarantees, by 2028. “California is investing billions to build a cleaner transportation future, and we have a responsibility to make sure those investments are actually bringing down costs and accelerating the transition to cleaner trucks,” said Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes, the bill’s author. The premise behind the bill is a widening gap between what heavy-duty electric trucks cost in the U.S. and what they cost in Europe. Research published by the International Council on Clean Transportation in September 2025, found that U.S. Class 8 battery-electric tractor prices rose 27%
Aug 31, 2026 · via act-news.com
Your phone goes quiet. Not dead-battery quiet — algorithmically quiet. Fewer pings. Worse pings. That’s the reality reportedly facing Atlanta’s Uber and Lyft drivers since Waymo’s robotaxis arrived in June 2025. These aren’t separate vehicles on a separate app. They’re fully driverless electric Jaguars hailed through the same Uber interface you already use, competing for the same rides, around the clock, without bathroom breaks. What Drivers Are Actually Saying The complaints are loud. Systematic data is still missing. One driver told CBS News Atlanta his earnings are down “probably like 10 to 30%”, depending on the day. The Atlanta Rideshare Drivers Union (ARDU) paints a similar picture — lower pay, longer waits, fewer fares — since Waymo reportedly logged 5.4 million autonomous miles across the city. Here’s the catch: ARDU representative Liza Ramsey has acknowledged the union holds no consolidated data. Their evidence is member complaints and earnings screenshots shared in a group chat. That doesn’t mean the grievance isn’t real. It means nobody has proved it systematically yet. ARDU is asking Atlanta City Council for three things: - A $0.50–$1.00 per-ride robotaxi impact fee funding a driver transition fund for job training and grants - A ban on Waymo pickups at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, a high-value fare anchor for many drivers - Caps on robotaxi deployment with stronger data reporting requirements Ramsey’s argument is direct: “If corporations profit from replacing human workers with automation, they should contribute to helping those workers transition to the next opportunity,” according to Axios. The Catch – Atlanta Can’t Actually Stop This Georgia’s 2017 AV law has already decided much of the fight. Georgia’s Senate Bill 219 pre-empts local regulation of fully autonomous vehicles. Atlanta cannot cap fleet size, require local operating licenses, or impose per-vehicle fees. Many of ARDU’s preferred remedies are, as reporting
Aug 31, 2026 · via gadgetreview.com
The California Teamsters have filed a lawsuit opposing new state regulations that approved the use of heavy-duty autonomous trucks. According to The Los Angeles Times, the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced the regulations in April, rolling out requirements for manufacturers to test autonomous trucks with a safety driver, and log 500,000 miles at each stage of certification. In its lawsuit, the Teamsters accused the DMV of approving heavy-duty driverless trucks without properly weighing the impacts on job losses, and without considering public input. “We’re not going to sit by idly while they put jobs and the safety of our streets and roads at risk,” Teamsters California co-chair Peter Finn told The Times. Finn went on to cite recent instances where driverless Waymo robotaxis in San Francisco, California, blocked first responders, and stalled in the middle of roads during a citywide blackout in 2025. Waymo also recalled thousands of vehicles in June, after their self-driving software repeatedly failed to recognize ramp closures and construction zones in Arizona and California. Read More: Volvo to Partner with Aurora on New Autonomous Truck Route The Teamsters' lawsuit alleges that state regulators violated California's Administrative Procedure Act, by failing to complete an evaluation of the economic and practical impacts of the driverless trucking guidelines. The act requires agencies to conduct an impact assessment for any changes that would have an economic cost or benefit to the state of more than $50 million in a single year. Instead, the Teamsters assert, the DMV dramatically underestimated the true cost of the regulations stemming from data reporting requirements. They also argue that the rules pose an "existential threat" to hundreds of thousands of union jobs. The DMV said that it could not comment on ongoing litigation, although the agency's director Steve Gordon said in April that the
Aug 31, 2026 · via supplychainbrain.com
About
Press
Copyright
Contact us
Creators
Advertise
Developers
Terms
Privacy
Policy & Safety
How YouTube works
Test new features
NFL Sunday Ticket
© 2026 Google LLC
Aug 31, 2026 · via youtube.com
The California artificial intelligence (AI) firm Applied Intuition will team up with the country of Saudi Arabia to deploy in that Middle Eastern nation what they call the “world’s largest autonomous trucking network.” Sunnyvale, California-based Applied Intuition said it provides physical AI in the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries. Through the new strategic collaboration, the firm will work with Humain, a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based artificial intelligence technology and infrastructure provider that is owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, called the Public Investment Fund (PIF). In the new deal, Humain and Applied Intuition will build a unified autonomous logistics network at national scale, deploying thousands of autonomous trucks across key Saudi logistics corridors by 2030. The companies said they will focus on autonomous trucking first, laying the foundation for the largest autonomous trucking network in the world, and then expand into logistics, robotaxis, ports, mining, manufacturing, agriculture, construction, and other industries in the future. The technology foundation for those trucks will be Applied Intuition’s Self-Driving System (SDS), already operating in Level 4 trucks on roads in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The firm will also provide Vehicle OS software and support vehicle intelligence offerings. The partners did not indicate which automaker would build the trucks themselves. “Autonomous trucking will change the economics of moving goods and people,” said Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN. “Our goal with Applied Intuition is to make this region the first to deploy autonomous trucking at scale. Thousands of autonomous trucks operating around the clock can transform the speed, cost, and capacity of our logistics network, with a multiplier effect across economies. We have an opportunity to set a global benchmark for autonomous freight.”
Aug 31, 2026 · via dcvelocity.com
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) co-led a USD 200 mn Series D investment in US autonomous freight operator Gatik alongside investors including Millennium Management, Ark Invest, and Intact Private Capital, according to a press release. The US-based company says it has already secured more than USD 600 mn in contracted revenue and completed 85k fully driverless orders. The next step is mass production: Gatik currently operates dozens of driverless vehicles. Its next-generation trucks are being developed with Isuzu for mass production — a production-ready Level 4 truck with redundant steering, braking, and other safety-critical systems that Isuzu is targeting to commercialize from 2027. Who builds what: The autonomous-driving system is Gatik’s, Nvidia provides the in-vehicle compute architecture, and Isuzu supplies and is developing the production-ready truck platform. Gatik then operates the combined stack as freight capacity for customers. QIA is effectively backing the company sitting at the commercial intersection of truck manufacturing, autonomous software, and the shippers that need freight moved. Why this matters: Driverless freight could shift the capacity constraint from people to technology and infrastructure. Gatik is targeting repetitive, time-sensitive routes between distribution facilities and stores, where reliable autonomous operations could add capacity while reducing the impact of driver shortages. The caveat is that the bottleneck doesn’t disappear — it shifts: A conventional truck depends primarily on the vehicle and its driver. Gatik’s driverless fleet adds another layer of dependencies, from autonomous software, sensors and compute to redundant vehicle systems, validation infrastructure, and regulatory approval to operate without a driver. IN CONTEXT- Gatik is already putting driverless freight into commercial use. Gatik and PepsiCo have been running autonomous routes in Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas since 2022. The companies expanded the relationship in June to cover more of PepsiCo’s regional network, including the site-to-site movement of products between distribution centers
Aug 31, 2026 · via enterpriseam.com
Photo: panumas nikhomkhai / Pexels Nvidia invests billions to expand AI empire across chips, data centers, and infrastructure The GPU giant is deploying tens of billions in equity investments and partnerships to lock down every layer of the AI stack. Nvidia isn’t just selling the shovels in the AI gold rush anymore. It’s buying the mines, the railroads, and a few of the prospectors too. The chipmaker has been on an unprecedented investment spree in 2026, committing over $40 billion in equity investments across the AI ecosystem. That figure includes a reported $30 billion stake in OpenAI, up to $3.2 billion in fiber-optic specialist Corning, and a $2.1 billion bet on data-center operator IREN. The most recent publicly disclosed move was a $3.5 billion investment to further expand its AI business. The scale of Nvidia’s dealmaking Nvidia has executed at least seven multibillion-dollar public-company investments this year, plus over two dozen private investment rounds. For comparison, SoftBank’s Vision Fund spent about $100 billion across hundreds of companies over several years. Nvidia is approaching half that figure in a matter of months, concentrated almost entirely on AI. The Corning investment, valued at up to $3.2 billion, targets a critical and often overlooked chokepoint in the AI supply chain. Corning manufactures the specialty glass and fiber-optic cables that physically connect data centers. Similarly, the $2.1 billion IREN investment secures relationships with data-center operators who need Nvidia’s hardware to function. A strategy built on strategic dependency The company has initiated relationships designed to mobilize over $500 billion in third-party financing for AI infrastructure. That’s capital from major financial firms that Nvidia is helping channel toward AI projects, many of which will require Nvidia’s products to operate. The company has also reportedly taken on an underwriting role tied to a massive Ohio data-center project
Aug 31, 2026 · via cryptobriefing.com
NHTSA Moves to Rewrite Truck Fuel-Economy Rules The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it lacks authority to regulate medium- and heavy-duty truck engines separately from complete vehicles, but the existing standards have not yet been eliminated. - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reconsidering fuel-economy rules for trucks. - NHTSA states it cannot regulate medium- and heavy-duty truck engines independently from the vehicles themselves. - Current standards for truck fuel-efficiency remain in place despite review efforts. *Summarized by AI Federal fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty truck engines are headed for elimination under a new legal interpretation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But despite the Trump administration’s characterization of the action as reversing an Obama-era rule, the existing engine standards did not disappear August 31. Instead, NHTSA issued an interpretive rule concluding that Congress authorized it to regulate the fuel efficiency of complete commercial vehicles, but not engines as separate components. The agency plans to revise its medium- and heavy-duty fuel-efficiency program through a future notice-and-comment rulemaking. For fleets ordering 2027 trucks, nothing will change immediately. The trucks and engines being introduced for the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2027 nitrogen-oxide emissions requirements are still coming. However, the federal fuel-efficiency framework that manufacturers will face in the future has become less certain. Engine Standards Remain on the Books NHTSA’s current Phase 2 regulations establish fuel-consumption standards at two levels for most heavy-duty trucks: one for the complete tractor or vocational vehicle and a separate standard for the engine. Those standards include requirements for model-year 2027 and later trucks and engines. NHTSA now says the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 did not give it the legal authority to regulate an engine independently from the vehicle in which it is installed. “An engine is not a vehicle,”
Aug 31, 2026 · via truckinginfo.com
Photo: Merlin Lightpainting / Pexels Humain partners with Applied Intuition to deploy self-driving trucks in Saudi Arabia by 2030 Saudi Arabia's sovereign AI firm is teaming up with a US-based autonomy specialist to bring driverless freight to the Kingdom as part of Vision 2030. Saudi Arabia just made its biggest bet yet on autonomous vehicles. Humain, the sovereign AI company established under the Public Investment Fund, has announced a strategic partnership with US-based Applied Intuition to deploy self-driving trucks across the Kingdom by 2030. The collaboration, announced on August 31, marks the first planned deployment of what both companies are calling “physical AI” in Saudi Arabia. What the deal looks like Humain, founded on May 12, 2025, by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and led by CEO Tareq Amin, was built to serve as Saudi Arabia’s national AI infrastructure and cloud services company. Its portfolio includes Arabic-language AI models like the ALLAM large language model. Applied Intuition has been developing vehicle intelligence systems and has already demonstrated working autonomous truck operations in Japan since 2025, collaborating with Isuzu on real-world deployments. A meeting between Saudi government officials and Applied Intuition took place in October 2025, specifically to discuss simulation and testing solutions for autonomous vehicles. Financial terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed. Neither have details about which truck models will be used, what routes will be covered, or what the regulatory framework will look like. Why Saudi Arabia wants self-driving trucks This fits neatly into Vision 2030, the Crown Prince’s sweeping economic diversification plan that aims to wean the Kingdom off oil dependency and reposition it as a global technology hub. Humain itself was created to build underlying digital infrastructure, including data centers and AI models, so the trucking project could serve double duty: proving the technology works while
Aug 31, 2026 · via cryptobriefing.com
For over 25 years, FCW has been the go-to source for news, information, and analysis.
Join our community of industry leaders and innovators.
Become a Member
|
Login
Hydrogen
EV
Investors
Research
Knowledge
Contact
EV
Skyworth Brings an Autonomous Electric Refuse Truck to Hanover
By
FCW Team
August 31, 2026 at 8:44 AM EDT
Listen
Aug 31, 2026 · via fuelcellsworks.com
Outside of Texas, it’s California that has lately generated the most autonomous truck news, despite not hosting the trucks themselves. The primary reason lies in the state’s driverless truck rulemaking process. California until recently had not allowed autonomous truck testing, and has been drafting the rules since 2021. That changed when the state released its long-awaited framework. It’s this framework that has drawn the attention of organized labor from the California Teamsters. The framework took effect April 28, and requires 1 million miles of testing before a driverless truck can haul freight commercially. The Teamsters responded, suing on Aug. 5, 2026, arguing the state moved too fast. The union’s lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court does not attack the substance of the driverless truck rules. Instead, it attacks the process that produced them. Teamsters California says the DMV routed the rules through an expedited track reserved for minor updates carrying less than $50 million in first-year costs or benefits. The agency thereby “circumvented laws requiring the agency to study and publicly disclose the economic impacts,” the union says. Nothing in the filing stops the DMV from processing applications, and the permit queue has kept moving. Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI hold drivered testing permits, and the agency’s roster of 28 permit holders includes Gatik and PlusAI. The near-term constraint on those companies is the calendar, not the courtroom. PlusAI published its own readiness scorecard on Aug. 10, reporting 93.4% safety case readiness, 99.8% autonomous miles, and 85.2% remote assistance-free trips. The developer is targeting 100% on the safety case and more than 90% on remote assistance-free trips before it takes drivers out of the seat commercially in 2027. None of that happens in California first. PlusAI runs its commercial pilot in Texas with International Motors and Ryder on a daily
Aug 31, 2026 · via freightwaves.com