Aurora’s self-driving trucks can now travel further, faster than human drivers

Aurora’s self-driving trucks can now travel nonstop on a 1,000-mile route between Fort Worth and Phoenix, beyond what a human driver can legally accomplish.

The distance and travel time provide positive financial implications for Aurora — and any other company hoping to commercialize self-driving semi trucks.

It takes Aurora about 15 hours to transport goods in its self-driving trucks on a 1,000-mile trip, according to the company. Human truck drivers take much longer to complete the same distance due to federal regulations that limit how long they can remain behind the wheel. For example, truck drivers must stop for a 30-minute break after eight hours and can operate a semi-truck for a maximum of 11 hours at a time, according to federal regulations. Once drivers reach this limit, they cannot sit behind the wheel for another 10 hours.

“This represents more than just a technological breakthrough,” Aurora co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson said during the company’s earnings call Wednesday afternoon. “It is the dawn of a supercharged future.”

It also offers compelling economics to its customers, including Uber Freight, Werner, FedEx, and Schneider. The company said it could eventually cut transit times nearly in half, a statistic that won over companies like Hirschbach, an early customer on the Fort Worth to Phoenix route.

Aurora said in a letter to shareholders that it is preparing to expand across the Sun Belt in the United States. Today, the company operates driverless trucks — some with a human spotter in the cab — on routes between Dallas and Houston, Fort Worth and El Paso, El Paso and Phoenix, Fort Worth and Phoenix, and Laredo and Dallas.

This expansion has helped Aurora transform from a developer of self-driving trucks into a commercial operator that makes money on its self-driving routes.

Aurora has generated revenue since April 2025 when it first deployed driverless heavy trucks for commercial use on public roads. Aurora reported $1 million in the fourth quarter and $3 million for the year, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Total adjusted revenue for the year, which includes money earned through pilot programs early last year, was $4 million, said the company’s chief financial officer, David Maddie.

This is a small number, especially compared to its expenses. Aurora reported a net income loss of $816 million in 2025, up 9% from the previous year as it focuses on expanding its operations. However, it has been showing tangible progress since 2024, when it did not recognize any revenue.

Revenue is expected to continue as the company adds more self-driving trucks and roads to its network. Today, the company’s fleet includes 30 trucks, 10 of which are driverless. This fleet is expected to grow to more than 200 trucks by the end of the year. The company’s trucks have traveled up to 250,000 driverless miles as of January 2026 with a perfect safety record, Urmson said.

In the second quarter, Aurora plans to deploy a fleet of International Motors LT driverless trucks, which will not have a human observer on board. Aurora’s self-driving operations using Paccar trucks currently have a human safety monitor in the cab at the request of the truck manufacturer.

Urmson took an optimistic view of Aurora’s future, buoyed by progress in its self-driving software, an impending second-generation hardware lineup that will lower costs, and expand its self-driving routes. The expansion of driverless trucking routes has been fueled by the release of new software, the fourth since the commercial service launched in April 2025.

The first version has been validated for initial driverless operations between Dallas and Houston, the second has been validated for overnight operations, and the third has been validated from El Paso, according to Aurora. The company said this latest version of the software will give its self-driving system the ability to navigate the diverse geography and climate of the southern United States.

“Just as the past two years brought robotaxis into the mainstream, we expect 2026 to mark the tipping point as the market realizes that self-driving trucks have arrived and are quickly becoming a permanent fixture in our transportation landscape,” Urmson said on the company’s earnings call. “If you’re in the Sun Belt in 2026, you won’t just read about the Aurora Driver. You’ll see it every day.”

Aurora currently operates self-driving routes across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and has future driverless operations planned in Nevada, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, the company said.