Aurora Brings Fully Self-Driving Trucks to Texas Roads
The first fully driverless Aurora trucks have hit the road in Texas, the company said. The CAS 8 trucks, which weigh over 14 tons, deliver cargo to customers between Dallas and Houston, and have now traveled more than 1,200 miles (1,931.21 km) “without a driver.”
Ahead of the launch, Aurora notified federal and local agencies, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Texas Departments of Transportation and Public Safety. However, the company did not disclose how its self-driving trucks would comply with emergency placarding requirements after the FMCSA denied Aurora’s request for an exemption from the rule in December 2024.
Aurora was founded in 2017 by alumni of Uber, Tesla, and Waymo; the company initially aimed to put fully self-driving trucks on public roads in 2024, but has delayed that while continuing to refine its autonomous navigation system for public roads and construction sites.
