TuSimple Reports Receiving 6,775 Orders For Its Self-Driving Electric Truck

Self-driving trucking company TuSimple Holdings TSP said on Monday it scored 1,000 new bookings in April and added 1,200 in the first quarter, taking its total booking to 6,775 trucks so far.

What Happened: The San Diego-based autonomous trucking company that raised $1.35 billion in a public offering last month is gearing up to launch driverless 18-wheelers in partnership with Navistar International Corp NAV beginning 2024.

The company said trucking companies Penske Truck Leasing, Schneider National Inc SNDR and US Xpress Enterprises Inc USX are among the large freight transportation companies in North America to place the orders. 

TuSimple and Navistar had last year announced a strategic partnership to co-develop L4 autonomous heavy-duty trucks. 

About 53% of its total bookings now are from truck carriers, 30% from rail operators and 17% are from shippers and parcel carriers, the company CEO Cheng Lu said.

Reservations are non-binding and require a $500 truck deposit.

Why It Matters: The development comes at a time as competition in self-driving technology picks up pace. On Monday, Plus announced a SPAC deal with plans to launch autonomous trucks in 2021.

Plus is working on mass production-ready, low-cost Level 4 autonomous driving technology for the long-haul trucking sector. 

See Also: Autonomous Trucking Company Plus Announces SPAC Deal: What Investors Should Know

In the trucking industry, there is a driver shortage, high driver turnover and about two-thirds of costs are made up from labor and fuel.

Price Action: TuSimple shares closed 0.54% lower at $37.09 on Monday.