From Partnerships to Power Plays: The Road Ahead for Autonomous Trucking
Chuck Price, President, AI Kinetics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the current state of autonomous trucking.
From the continued speculation that Volvo is shutting down Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS) in North America to PACCAR’s deafening silence following Aurora’s driver-out launch, the autonomous trucking industry is navigating a period of uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Daimler’s growing influence and factory-grade chassis are reshaping the competitive landscape, as the prospect of Waymo re-entering the trucking market looms large. If Waymo returns, what happens next? Chuck offers his candid insights into how quickly Waymo could rescale Via, their autonomous trucking division, and what that would mean for the future of the industry, if Waymo re-entered the autonomous trucking market.
Recorded on Thursday, May 22, 2025
Episode Chapters
- 0:00 Current State of Autonomous Trucking
- 6:00 Waymo Via
- 11:46 Building an Autonomous Truck
- 22:52 Daimler Truck
- 26:00 Autonomous Trucking Models
- 34:17 Licensing
- 36:09 Owning & Operating an Autonomous Trucking Fleet
- 40:36 Driver-Out Operations
- 50:39 Aurora / PACCAR Relationship
- 53:57 Aurora’s Path Back to Driver-Out
- 58:44 2027
- 1:01:13 Key Takeaways
