In a move met with mixed reactions, California Governor, Gavin Newsom, rejected, last Friday, a legislative attempt to halt the deployment of heavy autonomous trucks within the state. The Assembly Bill 316 had garnered substantial support in the state legislature, requiring that any self-driving vehicles over 10,001 pounds have a trained human driver onboard.

Governor Newsom, however, argued that existing regulations were already adequately overseeing the burgeoning technology. He noted that the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is in the process of developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for the self-driving truck industry, making the bill unnecessary at this time.

The bill was primarily backed by labor unions, led by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. They insisted that autonomous trucks, some weighing over 80,000 pounds, could present a safety risk and displace thousands of trucking jobs. In contrast, companies investing in autonomous technology argued that the bill would stifle innovation and divert investments to other states that are more welcoming to the technology.