Plus AI ‘cautiously optimistic’ on federal regulations for AVs

Autonomous trucking company Plus AI’s DC point person is “cautiously optimistic” that the federal government will soon establish a national regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles.

“The prior administration, my group of folks, we were working to establish a set of guardrails,” Earl Adams Jr., former deputy administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and now the VP of public policy and regulatory affairs for Plus, said at a June 3 roundtable in Detroit.

“This is maybe the one bipartisan issue that I have found,” he added, “that the current administration is still looking at establishing a set of guardrails around the initial deployment of commercial vehicles.”

Regulations: The AV sector, which has long bemoaned the patchwork of state and local laws, has been enthusiastic about indications that the Trump administration plans to establish a regulatory framework for AVs.

In April, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a new Automated Vehicle Framework from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The first step under that framework would be to update Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which are minimum standards with which all vehicles must comply, “to blaze a path” for commercial AV deployments, per a release.

“As part of DOT’s innovation agenda, our new framework will slash red tape and move us closer to a single national standard that spurs innovation and prioritizes safety,” Duffy said in a statement.

Adams said he expects the bulk of the rulemaking for the commercial AV sector to come from his former agency, FMCSA, which regulates commercial vehicles. But, he said, the commercial AV sector is awaiting congressional action that would affirm DOT’s authority on the issue.

“Congress’s action will ensure that there’s no question as to the authority that the Department of Transportation has to put forth regulations,” he said. “It would enshrine in law that a human is not required to comply with the regulations.”

Those two processes could play out in tandem, according to Adams. Already, there’s been some action in the Senate, where Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, last month introduced a bill called the “Autonomous Vehicle Acceleration Act of 2025,” which calls for authorizing DOT to establish standards for AVs.

Adams said he also expects to see action on the issue out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee by year’s end.

Separately, California recently released draft regulations that would allow self-driving trucks to test and deploy on public roads in the state.

In addition: Plus develops autonomous driving software for commercial trucks. The company, which on Thursday announced plans to go public via a $1.2 billion SPAC deal, aims to launch commercial production of factory-built trucks equipped with its AV platform in 2027.

Some of the trucking-specific issues the AV industry would like to see ironed out include how driverless trucks can handle federal requirements around interacting with first responders, undergoing cargo inspections, and, in one example Adams cited, how to properly pull over to the side of the highway, since current regulations require drivers to put warning triangles outside their truck—something a driverless truck obviously can’t do.

Adams acknowledged that opposition from organized labor remains an issue. The Teamsters, for example, have pushed back hard against autonomous truck deployments in a bid to protect driver jobs. Adams contended that, given the commercial AV sector’s gradual progress, truck drivers will be needed for many years to come.

But it remains to be seen what labor’s opposition means in this political environment, he noted: “Maybe there’s been a time when organized labor and the Republican Party have been aligned—I haven’t seen it…But we do have a world where [Teamsters President] Sean O’Brien has the president on speed dial.”