Bot Auto delivers first freight load with no one in the cab

State of play: A number of AV companies are testing driverless trucks in Texas, with the aim of improving safety, boosting efficiency and addressing a driver shortage.

• A few have pulled the driver from the cab under limited conditions.

Zoom in: Gatik, for example, achieved driverless operations earlier this year for its limited "middle-mile" routes between warehouses.

• Kodiak's driverless trucks are hauling fracking sand on industrial roads in the Permian Basin.
• Aurora made a splash in 2025 when its autonomous truck hauled a load of pastries in Texas. Shortly afterwards it put a safety driver back in the driver's seat at the request of truck manufacturer Paccar.

Between the lines: Bot Auto, a competitor, completed the long haul route for brokerage company Ryan Transportation without a safety driver, an observer in the cab or a remote operator.

• Bot is also different from most other AV trucking companies because it is not licensing its software to truck manufacturers.
• Instead, it operates as a trucking carrier, offering "transportation-as-a-service" to shipperrs and freight brokers seeking freight capacity.

The bottom line: Autonomous trucks are no longer an experiment, at least in Texas. Proving they belong everywhere else is a longer road.