Self Driving Trucks Are Ready To Do Business In Texas.
DON BURNETTE AND Paz Eshel are Silicon Valley, through and through. Burnette is a veteran of Google’s self-driving car project and Otto, the robotic trucking company acquired by Uber. Eshel has a background in venture capital, and his résumé is a rolling list of enterprise startups. AARIAN MARSHALL COVERS AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, TRANSPORTATION POLICY, AND URBAN PLANNING FOR WIRED.
But when the pair went looking for a place to operate the self-driving trucks they’re building through their year-old startup, Kodiak Robotics, Silicon Valley—really, all of California—was never on the table. For a simple reason: It’s not legal to operate an autonomous truck there, though the state is working on regulations. “For now, we don’t see an immediate, short-term path forward in California, and that's why we’re looking elsewhere,” says Burnette...