In Kansas City, rideshare driver Jesse shared how rising housing and gas costs have forced him to accommodate additional family members, reflecting economic pressures on gig workers. Jesse is among approximately 1.6 million rideshare drivers in the U.S.

During the same week, PepsiCo announced a $600 million investment to deploy the largest fleet of fully autonomous delivery trucks in American history, in partnership with Gatik AI. Since June 2025, medium-duty Isuzu trucks carrying Doritos and Frito-Lay products have been operating without human drivers on fixed short-haul routes connecting distribution centers, bottling plants, and retailers such as Walmart and Dollar General. This fleet has maintained a 99 percent on-time delivery rate with zero accidents.

Looking ahead, Gatik, Isuzu, and Nvidia are collaborating to establish a production facility in South Carolina set to begin mass-producing Level 4 autonomous trucks in the second half of 2027. According to Gatik's CEO, production volumes for the year are expected to reach into the hundreds of trucks.

In addition, Waymo operates nearly 3,800 robotaxis across the U.S. and plans to expand into 20 new markets by the end of 2026.

Jesse’s situation underscores the human impact of automation advances, as he hopes to continue receiving ride requests before algorithms potentially reduce demand for human drivers.

The article’s author is also the founder of HireMee, a skills-based hiring platform recognized with a YPO Global Impact Award and a Top-5 XPRIZE finalist for Rapid Reskilling, connecting millions of job seekers with employers in emerging economies.