Atlas Energy Solutions and Kodiak are expanding their joint driverless truck operations across Texas and New Mexico, scaling a commercial autonomous fleet that hauls sand to oil and gas well sites without human operators inside the cabs. The deployment currently connects two distinct load-out depots situated roughly 90 minutes apart across the Permian Basin, allowing the companies to extend their operational footprint and increase delivery speeds for energy customers.
Fleet Scaling and Operational Milestones
Under the expanded partnership, the companies plan to grow their fleet of Kodiak-powered driverless trucks from 28 vehicles up to 100 by mid-2027. According to operating data released by Atlas, the driverless program utilized 28 trucks across 15 routes as of March 31, 2026. During the first quarter of that year, those vehicles logged more than 23,500 driverless operating hours, carrying roughly 7,000 loads totaling over 450,000 tons of sand.
The scale of the operation reached a daily record on July 20, 2026, when Kodiak-powered trucks completed 176 loads in a single day during an 18-month deployment. Earlier in 2026, the companies introduced a configuration enabling a single driverless truck to pull three connected trailers, resulting in a combined loaded weight exceeding 135 tons. The transport network links directly with Atlas’s 42-mile Dune Express conveyor system, which positions sand closer to well sites before the autonomous trucks execute the final leg of delivery.
“Together, Atlas and Kodiak have deployed the world’s largest fleet of driverless big-rig trucks,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak, noting that the expanded two-depot setup creates a commercial blueprint for autonomous logistics.
Public Highway Timeline and Safety Evaluations
While the trucks currently operate on private industrial roads in the Permian Basin, both companies are preparing for a transition to public infrastructure. Kodiak plans to launch driverless highway operations by the end of 2026, while Atlas anticipates its Kodiak-equipped fleet will begin operating on public roads in early 2027, subject to operational milestones.
To evaluate the safety performance of the autonomous system, Kodiak points to an independent assessment conducted by Nauto, an AI-powered fleet safety company. The Kodiak Driver earned a VERA safety score of 98 out of 100 in the evaluation, tying for the highest score among more than 1,000 commercial fleets in Nauto’s network. The autonomous system recorded perfect scores of 100 for inattentive driving, high-risk driving, and traffic violations, alongside a score of 95 for aggressive driving.
Burnette stated that other motorists should not expect erratic or unusual behavior once the vehicles transition to public thoroughfares. “The Kodiak Driver is engineered to be a safe and cautious driver and to follow normal driving etiquette, so other motorists should not notice anything unusual,” he said, adding that the system already operates on highways across the southern United States with safety drivers overseeing the technology from the cab.
Weather Mitigation and System Safeguards
Operating across the Permian Basin exposes the vehicles to severe environmental conditions, including triple-digit temperatures, high crosswinds, dust storms, dense morning fog, and sudden flooding. Kodiak equips its trucks with a sensor suite built around cameras, radar, and lidar to maintain a detailed environment view.
However, the system is programmed to stand down when conditions degrade beyond safe operating thresholds. “And if conditions aren’t safe, the truck won’t keep driving. It slows down and safely pulls over,” Burnette explained. The software is designed to react to construction zones, emergency vehicles, and changing road conditions, but severe weather conditions such as heavy fog will prompt the vehicle to park rather than push forward.
To manage mechanical or communications failures, the Kodiak Driver continuously monitors its own systems. If a critical fault is detected, the vehicle executes a fallback maneuver to pull out of traffic and stop in a secure location. Simultaneously, a human remote-assistance team oversees fleet health from a command center.
Regarding cybersecurity threats, Kodiak isolates safety-critical functions from external communication ports and utilizes end-to-end encryption across vehicle infrastructure. While the company does not publish its specific security architecture, Burnette noted that access is tightly controlled and that any unusual system activity triggers an automatic safe stop.
