Aurora Innovation has once again reiterated its plans to have driverless autonomous trucks on the road by the end of the year, this time in a written letter to investors reporting on the companies first quarter activities.
"Looking ahead, we will continue to work responsibly and purposefully to ready our technology for commercial launch and longer-term deployment at scale," CEO Chris Urmson wrote in the letter.
The first proposed route is between Dallas and Houston, which would be approximately 230 miles. In 2025, the company expects to add an approximately 600 mile route between Fort Worth and El Paso, a route that it currently tests vehicles with backup drivers onboard. The company indicated that stops in Phoenix or Atlanta could also be added in 2025.
Long-term scaling plans include a widespread Sun Belt expansion, potentially in 2026. The company has indicated to investors that it is on track to gross profit by 2026 and be self-funding by 2027, but these are expectations, not guarantees.
Excluding stock-based compensation, the companies operating expenses for first quarter 2024 totaled $157 million, $135 million of which went into research and development.
The company currently has $1.2 billion in cash and expects to use between $175 to $185 million per quarter, with the second quarter cash spent potentially higher. Liquidity issues caused the company to lay off approximately 3% of its workforce earlier this year, but the company expects that the cash on hand will fund the company through 2025.
"We now expect this liquidity to support our planned commercial launch and fund our operations into the fourth quarter of 2025," CFO David Madday wrote in the letter. Should funding last that long the company will still require additional investment before it becomes self-funding.
Public perception of self-driving trucks skews negative. A poll conducted by AAA earlier this year found that 66% of Americans are "afraid" of self-driving vehicles while only 9% "trust" them.
As part of development, the company is actively working to complete a "safety case framework" for its vehicles. This framework was compiled from information from various sources, including government organizations, academic research and internal data. The safety case is currently 95% complete and vehicles will not launch without drivers until it has been completed. While demonstrating the technology to investors publicly for the first time in March, the company announced that the safety case was 93% complete.
"Engaging public trust is also vital in a safety-critical industry and requires a locally focused effort centered on transportation engagement," Urmson wrote. "We hosted our first community event at Palmer High School in Texas where we shared the benefits of our technology and the economic opportunities Aurora is bringing to the region. We look forward to engaging with additional communities along the I-45 corridor in preparation for our commercial launch."
