Three Top Carriers Sign Up For 6,775 TuSimple Self-driving Trucks

Several of the biggest names in the American trucking industry have signed up ahead of time to receive TuSimple’s first rollout of its Level 4 self-driving International LT Series trucks.

Three top carriers sign up for 6,775 TuSimple self-driving trucks

There’s no way these can be effective or anyway worthwhile. There gonna cost way more to operate then a regular truck on the road already. Technology sucks so there constantly gonna be down and need a human to work on them. They will not save money at all

I love how hard they're selling this concept. Not a day goes by without multiple technology failures involving the most basic of things; my headphones won't connect, my Bluetooth won't connect, calls get dropped inexplicably, software crashes, etc.

Yesterday alone I had all of those things happen to me, and I'm a tech guy using the latest and greatest of everything, almost all of which is software and hardware made by Apple. So if Apple can't get their hardware to connect reliably to other devices using their own software, nor can they keep their software running reliably without crashing, how in the world do they propose self-driving trucks will work without glitches?

With the recent pipeline attack, imagine how much fun a cyber attack would be for the bad guys on self-driving trucks!

I don't think it's lost on anyone here what would happen if the computer system lost control of the truck for even a few seconds.

For years I've stood my ground and said we're nowhere near self-driving trucks having a real impact on the industry. Many years have gone by and I see no evidence that we're even an inch closer.

It’s very interesting development. I think we are 20 years away from a fully viable self-driving truck. However, the technology is yet to be proven. How will they deal with tire blowouts? Bad weather where you could barely see the line markings on the road? How will they get fuel? How will the technology deal with accidents? Constant work construction with constant shifts in road pattern? Impatient four-wheelers on their cellphones? And most importantly, hackers? Look what is going on with the Colonial Pipeline. Can you imagine a hacker group having access to all of these trucks? They will wreck havoc, and create mass hysteria in the public. A hacker will turn an autonomous truck into an 80K pound weapon. Heck trains have better infrastructure to be fully autonomous and yet we don’t have self-driving trains.

The way I see it, is perhaps, something similar to current airplanes. My cousin works as a commercial pilot, and he was telling that basically the plane flights itself. The pilots are there to monitor the progress and they have hands-on input during takeoffs and landings, the rest of the flight the autopilot takes over. Therefore, I see autonomous trucks that will still need a driver behind the wheel monitoring that everything goes smoothly. Therefore, we will need a new breed of drivers, drivers that are more technology driven and savvy.

I love how hard they're selling this concept. Not a day goes by without multiple technology failures involving the most basic of things; my headphones won't connect, my Bluetooth won't connect, calls get dropped inexplicably, software crashes, etc.

Yesterday alone I had all of those things happen to me, and I'm a tech guy using the latest and greatest of everything, almost all of which is software and hardware made by Apple. So if Apple can't get their hardware to connect reliably to other devices using their own software, nor can they keep their software running reliably without crashing, how in the world do they propose self-driving trucks will work without glitches?

With the recent pipeline attack, imagine how much fun a cyber attack would be for the bad guys on self-driving trucks!

I don't think it's lost on anyone here what would happen if the computer system lost control of the truck for even a few seconds.

For years I've stood my ground and said we're nowhere near self-driving trucks having a real impact on the industry. Many years have gone by and I see no evidence that we're even an inch closer.

Agree 110%, not to mention an entire industry built around trucking. What will happen to the truck stops when there is no need for them? The employees that work there? There are millions of jobs that are associated with these industry that could be at risk. Not counting the communities built around the trucking industry. Will politicians let their constituents be out of work? I don’t care what party, it affects all. Autonomous trucks don’t vote, people do. In a previous statement I said 20 years, however, reading your statement and re-thinking the developments, I think we are way off from a fully self-driving environment, and nowhere near it.

"These early reservation numbers reflect the appetite surrounding self-driving technology in long-haul applications."

I find that quote from Bob Walsh, Vice President, Emerging Technologies, Strategy & Planning, Navistar to be almost comical. There is no way any reasonable business person can see this as a cost saving measure. There is, no doubt, a lot of curiosity out there that has been drummed up by a con-job of considerable magnitude. Even the photo with this article includes a driver with his hands hovering near the steering wheel. As a matter of fact, I would venture that there will need to be at least two humans on board, or possibly even three, to make sure the vehicle is safe and productive. They used to call these vehicles "driverless," but they currently seem to prefer "self driving." We are in a world of free markets. Price is a great dictator of free markets and how they function. If these trucks are not less expensive to operate, their future is doomed.

We have three major carriers who are sticking out their necks. I don't call that an appetite. I would classify it as curiosity. My money is on the drivers. Technology is full of problems and exploitation. A good solid driver's brain can handle a lot of calculations all while exercising good common sense at the same time. That's a combination that can't be produced with software, nor measured monetarily. We have yet to see how liability cases will be settled when "self-driving" technologies are involved. That is one huge obstacle that has not been settled yet. I am assuming that one item alone will be enough of a burden to crush the expansion of these companies.

I said 20 years, however, reading your statement and re-thinking the developments, I think we are way off from a fully self-driving environment, and nowhere near it.

If they were to build a specialized, self-driving infrastructure, I would sit up in my seat and take notice. Trying to build an autonomous vehicle for today's roadways makes no sense. It's a great science project! It's a horrendous way of trying to improve safety and efficiency on the highways.

We have yet to see how liability cases will be settled when "self-driving" technologies are involved.

They would almost have to eliminate any liability for the people building or operating these things. Otherwise, who would take that risk? It's inevitable that crashes will happen. If you don't know what the economic impact will be you simply won't take the chance.

I'm shocked that I never hear serious proposals for self-driving infrastructure. Even one lane of Interstate dedicated to self-driving vehicles could have a massive impact on the uptake of this technology.

The research funding they generate for self-driving vehicles produces a much larger and more immediate economic windfall for the players in this game than the cars or trucks themselves ever could. If they actually invented fully functioning autonomous vehicles, their research funding would dry up and there goes the free ride.

Instead, they keep promising they're on the cusp of greatness and your next investment in their company or university might be the one that pushes them into the realm of immortality and makes you incredibly rich! That sales pitch has worked for decades, so just keep milking it! There is no shortage of people with far more money than knowledge. They'll place their bets on anything if they think it could mean big payoffs.

Hell, how close are companies to completing the electric trucks that were pre ordered a few years ago? And now we have supposedly well run companies jumping on the driverless bandwagon, too.

To me, at this point in time, I don't see this being a wise investment. I would not be the first one to jump into the pool on this one.

"These early reservation numbers reflect the appetite surrounding self-driving technology in long-haul applications."

I find that quote from Bob Walsh, Vice President, Emerging Technologies, Strategy & Planning, Navistar to be almost comical. There is no way any reasonable business person can see this as a cost saving measure. There is, no doubt, a lot of curiosity out there that has been drummed up by a con-job of considerable magnitude. Even the photo with this article includes a driver with his hands hovering near the steering wheel. As a matter of fact, I would venture that there will need to be at least two humans on board, or possibly even three, to make sure the vehicle is safe and productive. They used to call these vehicles "driverless," but they currently seem to prefer "self driving." We are in a world of free markets. Price is a great dictator of free markets and how they function. If these trucks are not less expensive to operate, their future is doomed.

We have three major carriers who are sticking out their necks. I don't call that an appetite. I would classify it as curiosity. My money is on the drivers. Technology is full of problems and exploitation. A good solid driver's brain can handle a lot of calculations all while exercising good common sense at the same time. That's a combination that can't be produced with software, nor measured monetarily. We have yet to see how liability cases will be settled when "self-driving" technologies are involved. That is one huge obstacle that has not been settled yet. I am assuming that one item alone will be enough of a burden to crush the expansion of these companies.

This is a very important statement. If it's not cheaper to run them then they won't be run. I remember a few years ago they were promising natural gas was going to be the next big thing in trucking. It is so much cheaper than diesel and it's clean energy. The few companies that did buy them eventually found out they were way more expensive to operate than regular diesel trucks and they currently only run them in limited operations as a PR move.

Autonomous trucks , always reminds me of Maximum Overdrive 😆