Episode 302 | 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.

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 

Recorded on Thursday, May 22, 2025

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