Ten of TuSimple’s autonomous large rigs will be auctioned later this month, only weeks after the 2021 IPO announced its U.S. departure.
Two online auctions will sell the vehicles, R&D equipment, and office supplies. The first is January 23–25, and the second is February 6–8. An auction business representative said 10 vehicles would “initially” be auctioned. TuSimple, with offices in San Diego and Tucson, Arizona, claimed 35 autonomous trucks in November. What happens to the other 25 is unknown.
TuSimple’s tumble from a high-flying company to “Incredible Offer!!” in an online auction shows how dangerous the path is for AV businesses. 
Two years after going public, Embark Technologies sold itself and auctioned certain vehicles in 2023 for almost $5 billion. Ford and Volkswagen supported Argo AI, but it closed in late 2022. After one of its AVs crashed late last year, Cruise halted operations, downsized staff, and fired many executives.
One of the first companies to produce completely autonomous vehicles for nationwide freight was TuSimple, founded in 2015. It even earned a temporary 2019 contract to carry USPS mail between Phoenix and Dallas distribution sites.
Though it posed as an American firm, TuSimple was founded and funded in China. The US Committee on Foreign Investment quickly investigated the company’s Chinese stockholders after its 2021 IPO. In late 2022, it lost a critical opportunity to co-develop self-driving heavy trucks with Navistar due to FBI and SEC investigations. Since then, the company’s share price has fallen from $62.58 in July 2021 to $0.73 now.
TuSimple changed its intentions throughout 2023, at one time indicating it would sell its China company before deciding to sell the U.S. In December, the firm announced it would leave the U.S. and lay off over 150 staff.
