Self-Driving Big Rigs Hit California Highways — Aurora and Kodiak Begin Testing

Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI have been granted permits by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to test autonomous heavy-duty trucks on public roads, and Kodiak has already begun localized testing near its Mountain View office.

What Changed

On April 28 the California DMV adopted revised rules that removed a previous prohibition on driverless vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds from public-road testing and established a regulatory pathway for companies to test and, ultimately, deploy autonomous heavy trucks.

Permit Requirements And Limits

The DMV says both companies met the agency's permitting criteria, which include safety planning, insurance, vehicle registration and qualification standards for safety drivers. Key permit conditions include:

• Human Safety Operator: A trained human safety operator must be seated behind the wheel during testing.
• Speed Restrictions: Operations are not allowed on roads with posted speed limits of 25 mph or less, except when following a direct route between destinations.
• Operational Oversight: Companies must maintain required insurance, registration and documented safety procedures.

Background And Commercial Activity

Both Aurora and Kodiak are based in California but had focused testing and early deployments in Texas while California barred testing of heavy autonomous trucks. Aurora launched a commercial self-driving truck service in Texas in May 2025, beginning with a Dallas–Houston route and later adding runs including Fort Worth–El Paso, El Paso–Phoenix, Fort Worth–Phoenix and Laredo–Dallas. Kodiak began commercial driverless truck operations in January 2025 in an off-road environment in West Texas' Permian Basin and has since expanded into on-highway service, including a Dallas–Houston route.

Pushback And Legal Challenge

Despite regulatory approval, the prospect of driverless big rigs on California highways has drawn opposition. Last week, Teamsters California filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court, alleging the DMV failed to study and publicly disclose potential economic impacts of allowing autonomous trucks on public roads and that the agency did not adequately consider safety risks to other motorists.

Testing under these permits is intended to help developers refine safety systems and operational procedures in real-world conditions, but legal and political challenges could affect timelines for wider deployment.