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Self-driving truck completes first cross-country trip from CA to PA

By Aja Seldon
Updated  December 10, 2019 11:54am PST
Silicon Valley Tech
KTVU FOX 2

CUPERTINO, Calif. (KTVU) - A self-driving truck completed the first-ever coast-to-coast commercial freight run.

Cupertino based startup Plus.ai announced Tuesday its autonomous commercial truck drove 2,800 miles from Tulare, California to Quakertown, Pennsylvania in just three days. 

The truck hauled a fully-loaded refrigerated trailer filled with 40,000 pounds of Land O'Lakes butter for the journey. 

A safety driver was behind the wheel the entire time and an operational special was on board for the ride, but the truck did most of the driving. 

The truck's autonomous driving system was able to handle a wide range of weather and road conditions driving across Interstate 15 and Interstate 70, navigating high elevations, and wet and snowy roads. 

Plus.ai said it was a smooth trip without any problems. The company hasn't said when the self-driving trucks will go on sale, but industry experts said autonomous freight trucks could start rolling out in 2022. 

Autonomous truck makes first cross-country delivery

Cupertino based company Plus AI completes 3 day cross-country trip from Tulare, California to Pennsylvania. Dr. William Riggs from University of San Francisco, an expert in autonomous vehicle technology weighs in.