TuSimple was the first self-driving truck company to sell shares on a U.S. exchange. Its software used cameras, radar, and lidar to steer heavy trucks on long highway runs across the Southwest. Trucking companies faced a shortage of drivers, and investors were pouring money into anything autonomous. When TuSimple went public in April 2021, it had test trucks hauling freight in Arizona and Texas, still with safety drivers in the cab.

Highways Before City Streets

Xiaodi Hou and Mo Chen founded TuSimple in 2015, with offices in San Diego and China. Most self-driving efforts chased robotaxis on busy city streets. TuSimple's bet was simpler roads. Long, straight highways between freight hubs had fewer surprises than downtown traffic, and every mile without a human driver saved real money. It partnered with truck makers and shipping companies to build a freight network.

Flat Debut, Hard Fall

TuSimple priced at $40 a share, above its range, and began trading on the Nasdaq as TSP on April 15, 2021. It closed its first day at exactly $40. In 2022 the board removed Hou as CEO amid a federal review of the company's ties to a Chinese startup. TuSimple wound down its U.S. trucking work, delisted from the Nasdaq in 2024, and renamed itself CreateAI.

Cover: Mountain Road with Travelers, Joos de Momper, II. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a long mountain road with travelers (the open highway).