Uber’s Autonomous Truck Completes First Adventure: A Beer Delivery

From futuristic fantasies of self-driving cars, we turn our gaze to autonomous trucks, further signifying a monumental shift in transportation dynamics. Around five months ago, Uber made headlines with the announcement of its $700 million acquisition of self-driving truck startup Otto. Little did we know that their first task was to deliver 2,000 cases of Budweiser beer.

Sharing the triumphant news of its inaugural commercial delivery, Otto announced the successful shipment of beer from Fort Collins, Colorado, to Colorado Springs. This landmark journey spanned approximately 120 miles along Interstate 25, a significant milestone for the world of autonomous vehicles.

This pilot venture between Uber and Anheuser-Busch, the powerhouse behind Budweiser beer, was not just to test its feasibility, but also a demonstration to prove the commercial viability of self-driving truck utilization. As described by Lior Ron, co-founder of Otto, in an interview with The New York Times, “We think this technology is inching closer to commercial availability… We’ve tested with trailers, but there’s nothing quite like completing the actual task at hand, end to end.”

For this initial haul, Otto’s truck rolled out of the Anheuser-Busch facility in Loveland, Colorado in the early morning, proceeding towards Fort Collins to reach the interstate. The truck trudged through Denver, gamely navigating amidst other vehicles along the highway, reached its terminus in Colorado Springs without any hitches.

This venture represents a notable step towards automation in the trucking industry. In the US alone, there are more than 3 million truck drivers, an alarming realization that 3 million jobs could be vulnerable in the near future due to technological advancements. A more conservative estimate suggests 2 million jobs could still be in jeopardy as experienced truck drivers might still need to execute more complex, longer trips. On one hand, automation in age-old businesses such as Anheuser-Busch can drastically reduce operating costs. On the other, this technological evolution poses a daunting reality for employees urging them to reconsider their professions, particularly in more developed nations.

In hindsight, a question begs to be asked: who would have thought that the autonomous revolution’s first rodeo would be a beer run?

Photo: The New York Times