Atlas Energy Solutions is expanding its driverless truck fleet with Kodiak AI from 28 to 100 rigs by mid-2027, adding a second load-out point that extends autonomous proppant delivery across the Permian Basin, according to FreightWaves.
FreightWaves reported that Atlas (NYSE: AESI) announced the expansion on Friday, adding a second simultaneous load-out point along its Dune Express sand conveyor system. The company now runs driverless trucks concurrently from sites in Texas and New Mexico, roughly 90 minutes apart, rather than working one load-out point at a time. Atlas supplies proppant — the sand used in hydraulic fracturing — and manages last-mile delivery to well sites for oil and gas producers.
Two load-out points, one basin
The second load-out point changes what Atlas can promise to a customer, FreightWaves reported. The practical effect is that Atlas can serve well sites across a wider slice of the Permian Basin at the same time, rather than sequencing deliveries around a single origin.
John Turner, CEO and president of Atlas Energy Solutions, said in the announcement:
"This partnership with Kodiak is a critical part of the Atlas strategy to transform oilfield sand logistics through innovation. Our mission is to seek critical energy infrastructure with inefficiencies, then engineer solutions that improve efficiency, reduce risk and enhance our customers' operational success."
Fleet growth and operating metrics
Atlas has scaled its autonomous program steadily since its first driverless deployments in 2024, according to FreightWaves. As of March 31, 2026, the company operated 28 driverless trucks across 15 distinct routes. Those trucks have carried roughly 7,000 loads and hauled more than 450,000 tons of sand. The fleet logged more than 23,500 driverless hours in the first quarter of 2026 alone.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Current fleet size (as of March 31, 2026) | 28 trucks |
| Target fleet size | 100 trucks by mid-2027 |
| Routes covered | 15 distinct routes |
| Total loads carried | Roughly 7,000 loads |
| Total sand hauled | More than 450,000 tons |
| Driverless hours in Q1 2026 | More than 23,500 hours |
| Single-day record (July 20) | 176 loads |
The single-day record came on July 20, when Kodiak-powered trucks delivered 176 loads of sand — the highest daily count across 18 months of driverless deployments with Atlas in the Permian Basin, FreightWaves reported. The trucks run the Kodiak Driver, an autonomous system that pairs Kodiak's software with modular, vehicle-agnostic hardware. Kodiak noted it became the first company to deploy customer-owned and -operated driverless trucks in commercial service in 2024.
Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak, said:
"Together, Atlas and Kodiak have deployed the world's largest fleet of driverless big-rig trucks."
Triple-trailer capability cuts cost per ton
Earlier this year, the two companies introduced a capability that lets a single autonomous truck haul three connected trailers at once, according to FreightWaves. Atlas and Kodiak describe it as the first autonomous triple-trailer trucking operation, with a combined loaded weight above 135 tons. For a sand hauler, that math adds up: fewer tractors moving the same tonnage compresses cost per ton on the most repetitive leg of a completion job.
Implications for shippers and operators
For energy and oilfield freight operators, the expansion signals that autonomous trucking is now deployed at commercial scale on controlled private ground. Atlas manages last-mile delivery to the well site, and sand is one of the most schedule-sensitive inputs in a completion job — a crew waiting on sand is a crew burning money, as FreightWaves put it. The concurrent load-out points give Atlas flexibility to serve more well sites simultaneously, while the triple-trailer setup reduces the number of tractors needed for the same tonnage.
The fleet's move to public roads in early 2027 will be the next major test, according to FreightWaves. Timing is subject to regulatory and operational milestones, and so is the 100-truck target. "We've demonstrated that autonomous trucking is delivering meaningful results today," Burnette said. "Our expanding partnership, which now covers two unique locations, is creating a blueprint for how autonomy can transform logistics by improving efficiency, increasing productivity, and delivering lasting value for customers at commercial scale."
Watch list
- Public-road debut: FreightWaves reported that Atlas and Kodiak expect the fleet to operate on public roads in early 2027, moving driverless proppant delivery off controlled private ground and into mixed traffic.
- Regulatory and operational milestones: The timing of public-road operations and the 100-truck fleet target are both subject to those milestones.
- Fleet scaling: Whether Atlas reaches 100 driverless trucks by mid-2027 as scheduled, and how the second load-out point performs in concurrent operations.
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