Kodiak and Atlas plan 100-truck driverless fleet with public highway push by 2027

Atlas Energy Solutions and Kodiak are scaling their joint driverless trucking operation in the Permian Basin from 28 trucks to 100 by mid-2027. The expansion already spans two depots roughly 90 minutes apart across Texas and New Mexico, and sets up a conditional move onto public highways in early 2027. That timeline hinges on operational milestones the companies have not yet detailed publicly.

Fleet metrics and Permian Basin footprint

The numbers behind the current deployment are specific. As of March 31, 2026, the fleet had completed about 7,000 loads, hauled more than 450,000 tons of sand, and logged more than 23,500 driverless operating hours in the first quarter alone. On July 20, the trucks delivered 176 loads in a single day, a record across the 18-month deployment.

Atlas previously concentrated its autonomous trucks at one load-out location at a time. Running from two depots simultaneously widens the network across more well sites in the Permian Basin and reduces response time when customers need sand moved quickly. The operation connects with Atlas's 42-mile Dune Express conveyor system, which moves sand closer to well sites before the trucks cover the final leg. Earlier in 2026, Kodiak and Atlas also deployed a driverless truck capable of pulling three connected trailers with a combined loaded weight topping 135 tons.

The highway milestone and what conditions it carries

Kodiak plans to put driverless trucks on public highways by the end of 2026. Atlas expects its fleet to follow in early 2027, though it has tied that target to unspecified operational milestones. Kodiak CEO Don Burnette has said the system already operates on southern U.S. highways with a safety driver in the cab and is built to follow standard driving behavior, so other motorists would not notice anything unusual.

In unsafe weather conditions, the system slows and pulls over rather than continuing. A command center staffed by human operators monitors the full fleet. If a mechanical, sensor, or communications failure is detected, a fallback maneuver brings the truck safely out of traffic.

Safety evaluation and the Nauto score

Kodiak submitted its system to an independent evaluation by Nauto, an AI-powered fleet safety company. The Kodiak Driver received a VERA safety score of 98 out of 100, tied for the highest mark among more than 1,000 commercial fleets in Nauto's network. The comparison group consists entirely of human-driven fleets. The system earned a perfect score for inattentive driving, high-risk driving, and traffic violations. Its aggressive driving score came in at 95.

What to watch: Kodiak's planned driverless highway launch before year-end 2026, which would precede Atlas's targeted public-road transition in the first half of 2027.