Kodiak AI and DTL Transport have completed their first autonomous trucking deliveries under a new California DMV heavy-duty autonomous vehicle testing permit, hauling perishable freight between Fresno and Los Angeles2,3.
The pilot began on September 22, running an approximately 225-mile route mainly along California State Route 99 and Interstate 5 to a Los Angeles distribution center. A human safety driver remains behind the wheel during the companies' initial work.
Kodiak received its California DMV heavy-duty autonomous vehicle testing permit on August 13, after the state approved regulations allowing such vehicles to be tested on public roads. The permit is described as the first step in a process that progresses from testing with a driver to testing and deployment without one.
ANALYSIS The presence of a safety driver marks this as an early-stage permitted operation rather than a fully driverless commercial deployment, but the completed deliveries establish a concrete operational record under the new California regulatory framework.
DTL Transport has been in business for more than 36 years and operates a fleet of more than 100 trucks. Lucky Dosanjh is the second-generation owner, and Jovan Dosanjh, the third generation, heads the dispatch department.
Kodiak says it became the first company to deploy driverless technology in customer-owned driverless semi-trucks in 2024. The company plans to launch driverless operations on public highways in Texas by the end of 2026.
ANALYSIS The California pilot with DTL Transport opens a second geographic front for Kodiak alongside its Texas driverless timeline, pairing a legacy carrier's fleet scale with Kodiak's autonomy stack.