Two autonomous-truck companies have received a permit to test autonomous trucks in California, but the Teamsters union is fighting it.

Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI have received drivered testing permits under the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ newly expanded Autonomous Vehicle Tester program, which allows permitted heavy-duty autonomous vehicle developers to test and deploy their technology on California roads for the first time.

These permits allow autonomous trucks to operate in California with a safety driver behind the wheel.

Both companies are based in California, but they haven’t been able to deploy trucks in their home state because the rules didn’t allow them.

Gatik and Plus.ai are also permit holders, according to the California DMV website.

California's New Autonomous-Vehicle Regulations

In April 2026, the DMV enacted autonomous-vehicle regulations for the first time that allow commercial trucks and other vehicles over 10,000 pounds to operate fully autonomously on public roads in California.

The new regulations allowed AV manufacturers to apply for permits to test and deploy heavy-duty autonomous vehicle technology on California roadways.

The rule requires manufacturers to begin with testing using a safety driver and progress to driverless testing before applying for commercial deployment. Manufacturers must complete 500,000 miles of testing at each phase and prepare a structured safety case demonstrating the safety of vehicle hardware, software and operations.

Heavy-duty AVs must still stop at CHP weigh stations and comply with all applicable state and federal commercial motor vehicle requirements.

The rules also ban companies from testing on roads where the speed limit is 25 mph or less, unless the trucks are on a “direct route” between destinations.

“California’s comprehensive autonomous vehicle regulations are a major unlock for freight innovation,” said Don Burnette, Founder and CEO, Kodiak.

“This permit allows us to begin the first phase of scaling autonomous trucking coast-to-coast, while ensuring appropriate safety oversight from California regulators.”

Kodiak and Aurora received permits that authorize autonomous operations with a human safety driver aboard. The permit marks the first step in the DMV’s phased permitting approach, which progresses from drivered testing to driver-out testing and, ultimately, driver-out deployment.

Teamsters Challenge California Autonomous Vehicle Rules

Teamsters California has sued the California Department of Motor Vehicles over regulations allowing the testing of fully autonomous heavy-duty trucks on public roads, alleging the agency failed to adequately assess the rules’ economic and safety implications.

In a press release, the Teamsters union alleged that in order to “avoid a required study and public disclosure of the economic impacts of such a sweeping change, the DMV used a shortcut process meant for minor regulatory updates with less than $50 million in costs or benefits in the first year after implementation."

According to the Teamsters lawsuit, "the DMV’s rushed process vastly underestimated the costs of deploying self-driving trucks, outrageously claiming not a single job would be eliminated by autonomous heavy vehicles.”

Aurora Ramping Up Driverless Truck Deployments

Aurora said in its second-quarter financial report that it is fully allocated to exit the year with 200 driverless trucks in operation.

To be able to deliver those trucks by the end of the year, Roush is ramping toward a 1,000-truck annual production run-rate by October to keep pace with demand.

(Roush also works with Kodiak.)

Aurora has been signing on more customers in Texas, a hub of autonomous-truck development, to adopt its next-generation truck.

Charger Logistics signed on to deploy the Aurora Driver on the Dallas-Laredo route using Aurora’s newest fleet of driverless trucks.

Value Truck, a full-service and cross-border carrier, specializes in transporting heavy, oversized industrial equipment, retail goods, and perishables. The company will initially deploy the Aurora Driver on two routes, Dallas-Laredo and Fort Worth-Phoenix, freeing up its own drivers to focus on local freight.

Volvo Autonomous Solutions plans to begin its own driverless operations on the Volvo VNL Autonomous in Q1 2027, which Aurora said makes the third fleet of driverless trucks powered by the Aurora Driver.

In addition to Hirschbach’s order for 500 trucks, Aurora is already in discussions with additional customers on its Driver as a Service model for 2027 and beyond. 

Autonomous Trucks and Cross-Border Trucking

Aurora says driverless truck technology has the potential to ease congestion at the U.S.-Mexico border.

As part of its announcement of the deal with Value Freight, Aurora explained that Laredo, Texas, is the busiest land port in the Western Hemisphere and handles approximately 40% of all freight moving between the U.S. and Mexico.

As manufacturing facilities move closer to the U.S., “nearshoring” is driving a surge in freight that travels through Laredo, leading to longer pick-up times for traditional drivers at congested U.S. border hubs. The Aurora Driver gives carriers a way to move that freight around the clock on American highways, without the hours-of-service limits that constrain traditional drivers.