Skip to content
Cyberttak.
Robotics· 3 min read

Kodiak signed a 75-truck driverless deal with DTL Transport, but service starts only in 2028

Driverless big rigs already run on a few Texas routes, while California only began permitting supervised tests this summer.

By CyberttakPublished · 15:06

In brief

75 driverless trucks are coming, in 2028

Kodiak AI signed a binding deal with DTL Transport. Service starts in 2028 on Texas and Atlanta routes. California tests still need a human safety operator.

A technician in a high-visibility vest looks up at roof sensors on a parked white semi-truck in a freight yard
A technician in a high-visibility vest looks up at roof sensors on a parked white semi-truck in a freight yardCredit: AI-generated · FLUX.2 klein 9B

Kodiak AI announced on Oct. 28, 2026 a binding agreement with DTL Transport, a California long-haul freight company, to put the Kodiak Driver (its self-driving system) into 75 driverless trucks. DTL owns and runs the trucks. Kodiak's own release and TechCrunch's reporting agree on the main points.

The numbers

  • 75 trucks, owned and operated by DTL.
  • 2028 is when TechCrunch says deliveries start.
  • 225 miles is the length of a September pilot between Fresno and Los Angeles.

DTL will pay Kodiak a fee per mile. Kodiak calls this model Driver-As-A-Service. Kodiak says it is the first publicly announced definitive agreement of its kind by an interstate trucking company.

Where the trucks will run

The first routes are Interstate 10 between Dallas and El Paso, and Interstate 20 between Dallas and Atlanta. Kodiak has already tested on both. DTL hauls produce for large grocers.

Why it matters

Imagine a grocery truck crossing the country with no one at the wheel. That is the goal here. But today the reality is smaller. Kodiak earns money on three active routes in Texas, and its CEO Don Burnette described them as still in pilot stage. TechCrunch also reports Kodiak shares are down 87% from their opening-day price.

California opens a door, carefully

California's DMV approved rules on April 28 that lifted its ban on testing autonomous vehicles over 10,000 pounds. Aurora Innovation and Kodiak received testing permits in August. The permits require a human safety operator behind the wheel. They also bar roads with posted limits of 25 mph or less, unless the road is a direct route.

Kodiak's September pilot with DTL ran under that permit, with a safety operator aboard. Teamsters California sued the DMV, alleging it skipped required studies of economic impacts and failed to weigh safety risks to motorists.

Texas is ahead

Aurora started a Texas service in May 2025 on Dallas to Houston. It has since added routes including Fort Worth to El Paso, El Paso to Phoenix, Fort Worth to Phoenix and Laredo to Dallas. Kodiak has driven commercially since 2019 but has not yet removed the human operator on highways. It has run driverless off-road in West Texas's Permian Basin since January 2025.

What comes next

TechCrunch says Kodiak plans to take safety operators out of the cab in December, starting a driverless highway service for Ikea on Interstate 45 between Dallas and Houston.

The limits are plain. The DTL trucks are not due until 2028. Kodiak's driverless highway service has not started. The California permits still require a human at the wheel. The sources here do not give independent safety, fuel or travel-time results.

Sources