Kodiak Autonomous Truck Hauls Produce in California Pilot for DTL
Driverless truck pilot tests whether autonomous Class 8s can fill capacity gaps during peak produce season. Texas highway launch planned by year-end.
When does Kodiak plan to launch driverless trucks on public highways?
Kodiak plans to launch driverless operations on public highways in Texas by the end of 2026. The company is currently running a California pilot hauling produce for DTL, testing whether autonomous Class 8 tractors can handle capacity overflow during peak freight periods.
DTL, a California-based produce hauler, is using the pilot to evaluate whether autonomous trucks can fill gaps when demand exceeds available fleet capacity. The companies are also measuring transit times, shipping costs, and produce shelf life, though no results have been released yet.
"Our work with Kodiak helps us understand how embracing this cutting-edge technology improves safety, increases margins, and affirms our leadership position in the industry," said DTL President and CEO Lucky Dosanjh.
What the pilot tests
The California pilot focuses on three operational questions: Can autonomous trucks absorb overflow freight when DTL's driver fleet is fully deployed? Do transit times improve enough to extend shelf life on perishable loads? And does the per-mile cost pencil out against driver wages, benefits, and detention.
Produce hauling is a natural test case. Loads are time-sensitive, routes are predictable, and shippers pay premiums for faster delivery. If an autonomous truck can run a 400-mile lane overnight without HOS limits, the shelf-life gain could justify higher equipment costs.
Kodiak has not disclosed which tractor platform it is using, whether the units are owned or leased by DTL, or what the per-mile operating cost looks like compared to a conventional sleeper cab. The companies also have not said whether the pilot trucks run with a safety driver onboard or operate driverless under California's autonomous vehicle permit framework.
Texas launch timeline
Kodiak's plan to launch driverless operations in Texas by the end of 2026 puts a hard date on when the technology moves from pilot to revenue service. Texas allows driverless commercial vehicles on public roads under certain conditions, and the state's long-haul corridors (I-10, I-35, I-45) offer high-volume lanes where autonomous trucks could run repeatable routes.
The Texas launch will be the first public test of whether autonomous Class 8s can operate profitably without a safety driver. If Kodiak hits the timeline, fleets will have real-world data on uptime, service intervals, and incident rates by mid-2027.
What happens after the pilot
Kodiak and DTL said they may add routes after the California pilot, but gave no specifics on which lanes or how many trucks. Expansion will likely depend on whether the pilot demonstrates measurable cost savings or capacity relief.
For small fleets, the question is not whether autonomous trucks work in a pilot, but whether they pencil out at scale. The California pilot does not answer that yet. What it does is put a timeline on when driverless Class 8s will be running revenue freight on public highways in Texas, and that is the milestone that will produce the TCO data fleets need to make a spec decision.
Kodiak separately announced a partnership with PrePass to connect driverless trucks to roadside enforcement systems, addressing one of the operational gaps that has slowed autonomous truck adoption: how a driverless unit communicates with weigh stations and inspection sites when there is no driver to hand over paperwork.
