In late August, self-driving truck technology company TuSimple settled a multi-million dollar lawsuit accusing it of defrauding shareholders, among other claims.
According to federal court documents, the $189 million settlement came after the company doctored its safety record and employed at least three technology spies who planned to feed information to a rival Chinese self-driving trucking firm.
Court documents show TuSimple has already paid $174 million of the settlement into an escrow account, and the company’s insurers have contributed $15 million.
Company attorneys have not responded to requests for comments by The Trucker, and the company’s website has not published a message to stakeholders regarding the verdict.
According to a Reuters report, shareholders say TuSimple “misrepresented the safety of its technology … with an eye toward addressing the kinks on U.S. roads and transferring the improved technology to the Chinese rival, Hydron.”
Shareholders said the truth came out in August 2022, when the Wall Street Journal reported that an Arizona freeway crash four months earlier underscored the concerns of analysts and employees that TuSimple’s rush to deliver driverless trucks put public safety at risk.
According to court documents, the shareholders’ attorneys may seek up to 25% of the settlement in fees.
In a separate case, TuSimple announced in May that it had reached a settlement agreement with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) relating to events that occurred in 2022.
These events included the temporary vacancies in the security director position and on the board’s government security committee (reconstituted on Jan. 5, 2023), and whether certain covered intellectual property was transferred contrary to the national security agreement.
“We are pleased to put these matters behind us, with CFIUS having concluded its investigation,” Cheng Lu, president and CEO of TuSimple, said in a May 29 statement. “This resolution enables us to better focus on implementing our next stage of development. We remain committed to collaborating closely with regulators and complying fully with our obligations to CFIUS.”
TuSimple was delisted from Nasdaq in January, just three years after raising $1.35 billion in an April 2021 initial public offering. The company has also wound down its U.S. operations to focus exclusively on the Asia Pacific region of the world.
Lu cited a mature local supply chain and strong regulatory support as reasons for the shift; however, the company’s website still lists San Diego as its headquarters.
Over the past several years, TuSimple has played a significant role in the push toward autonomous Class 8 tractors.
In March 2023, TuSimple officials announced that the company’s Class 8 trucks have driven more than 10 million cumulative miles through testing, research and freight delivery.
“This is an incredible achievement and one that we do not take lightly,” Lu said at the time. “It’s an opportunity for us to look back on everything we have achieved as a company and a reminder of what is still to come as TuSimple continues to innovate and re-imagine the future of the autonomous commercial trucking industry.”
In June 2023, the company claimed it had successfully completed China’s first fully autonomous semi-truck runs on open public roads without a human in the vehicle and without human intervention.
According to a news release, TuSimple’s “Driver Out” run was conducted on designated public roads approved by the Shanghai government, including Yangshan Deep-water Port Logistics Park and Donghai Bridge.
“Over the course of approximately 62 kilometers, TuSimple China’s autonomous truck demonstrated its capability to navigate complex road and weather conditions in both urban and highway environments within the port area,” noted a June 2023 press release. “This included traffic signals, on-ramps, off-ramps, lane changes, emergency lane vehicles, partial lane closures, fog and crosswinds.”
The Driver Out run was operated by TuSimple China’s Autonomous Driving System without a human on-board, without remote human control of the vehicle and without traffic intervention.
In order to ensure public safety, the TuSimple China team worked closely with government regulators and law enforcement and implemented a safety vehicle to ensure safety during the run.
The Driver Out program in China represented more than two years of intense development, company officials said.
These milestones are among several claims recorded by the company since its creation in 2015, including:
- Becoming the first company to demonstrate an autonomous semi truck’s capabilities on surface streets and highways with its 1,000-meter perception breakthrough in 2018.
- Launching the Autonomous Freight Network in 2020.
- Establishing itself as the first autonomous vehicle company to go public with a traditional IPO in 2021.
- Becoming the first company to successfully demonstrate the ability to fully remove the driver from its trucks and navigate 80 miles, traveling on surface streets and highways, naturally interacting with other motorists in December 2021.
“This is an important moment for TuSimple and its employees and an opportunity to celebrate our achievements,” Lu said at the time. “While we have a lot to be proud of, we’re always focused on what comes next. TuSimple is excited to continue hitting even more milestones through the advancement of our autonomous driving technology.”
What’s next for the tech company? According to a Sept. 10 story in the San Diego Business Journal, TuSimple is “shifting gears and leaving town.” According to the article, the company plans to relocate to either China or Japan in the next six months.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
