California Lifts Ban on Heavy-Duty Autonomous Trucks

Humble Robotics, a San Francisco startup founded in 2025, raised $24 million to build an electric autonomous freight truck without a steering wheel, driver's seat or gas pedal. The company said the vehicle, called the Humble Hauler, is designed for shorter back-and-forth freight routes and has a 200-mile electric range and a top speed of 55 miles per hour.

April the California Department of Motor Vehicles lifted its ban on autonomous trucks weighing more than 10,001 pounds and opened public roads to testing. Heavy-duty autonomous vehicles must still begin testing with a human safety driver and complete 500,000 miles at each certification stage.

Humble Robotics has not yet applied for a California autonomous-vehicle permit and had planned initial operations in Texas. Founder and chief executive Eyal Cohen said the company is shifting focus back to California.

Robotics competes with Pittsburgh-based Aurora and Bay Area-based Kodiak, both of which are developing autonomous trucks that retain traditional driver cabs. Dan Sperling, founding director emeritus of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis, said regulators may take longer to approve vehicles without steering wheels or pedals.

California, which represents 250,000 workers, has opposed the DMV rule changes. California employs more than 130,000 truck drivers, and eight of every 1,000 jobs in the state are truck-driving positions. Cohen said the company aims to partner with ports, terminal operators and intermodal shipping companies for initial deployments near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.