California's heavy-truck permits start a mileage clock, not a driverless freight service

The California DMV has issued testing permits to Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI under new rules that allow heavy autonomous trucks on public roads, with a human safety operator required behind the wheel ^[1]. The permits do not authorize driverless commercial freight service ^[2]; they enroll both companies at the beginning of a staged regulatory process measured in miles, not months.

The structure is three successive stages: testing with a safety driver, driverless testing, then commercial deployment ^[8]. Under Title 13 CCR Sections 227.42(a)(1)(B) and 228.08(a)(1)(B), a heavy-duty manufacturer must document 500,000 autonomous miles before it can apply for a driverless testing permit, and another 500,000 after that before it can apply for a deployment permit ^[3]. That is a cumulative million autonomous miles before either company can file the paperwork for revenue driverless operation ^[5]. The DMV's final statement of reasons allows up to 400,000 miles per stage to be accumulated outside California, which leaves a floor of 100,000 California miles at each stage ^[4], or at least 200,000 in-state miles in total against as much as 800,000 imported from elsewhere ^[6].

The rules took effect after the DMV approved them on April 28, 2026, ending the state's prohibition on testing and deploying vehicles with a gross weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more ^[7]. Mileage is not the only gate. Applications for driverless testing and deployment must include a comprehensive safety case describing the evidence for the automated driving system ^[9], and the DMV says it may attach targeted restrictions on fleet size, operating location, speed and weather ^[10]. Heavy autonomous vehicles must also stop at California Highway Patrol weigh stations and meet applicable state and federal commercial-vehicle requirements ^[11].

The current permits already carry a condition that shapes the route map: no operation on roads posted at 25 mph or less unless the truck is following a direct route between destinations, according to TechCrunch ^[12]. That pushes the early programs onto highways and away from low-speed streets, which is also where the miles accumulate fastest.

What is missing is any way to time the first threshold. Kodiak has said only that a handful of trucks are operating, primarily around its Mountain View headquarters, TechCrunch reported on August 14 ^[13]. It has not disclosed the number of trucks, the routes, or California miles completed, which makes an estimate of when it reaches 500,000 miles impossible ^[18]. Both companies applied in spring 2026 and held permits by August 14, but exact issuance and effective dates have not been disclosed ^[14]. The DMV's own permit-holder page, labeled as of May 8, lists Aurora Operations Inc. as a testing-with-driver holder and does not list Kodiak ^[15], even though the DMV told TechCrunch both companies met its safety, insurance, registration and safety-driver qualification criteria ^[16]. Available records do not show when Kodiak's permit took effect or whether Aurora's existing entry was amended to cover heavy trucks ^[17].

The mileage rule is, in effect, a capital requirement. Every one of those million miles is driven with a paid operator in the seat before the operator can be removed. Aurora ended 2025 with roughly 1,900 employees, about 1,600 of them in engineering and product roles ^[19].

Watch for the DMV roster to reconcile with the permits actually issued ^[15][16], and for either company to start publishing California autonomous mileage. Until someone does, the 500,000-mile line is unfalsifiable from the outside ^[18].