Warren Buffett Isn’t Losing Sleep Over Self-Driving Trucks

A cardboard cutout in the likeness of Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., sits in the driver's seat of a truck on display during the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Neb.
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News

“Trucks are going to be around for a very long time.”

That was Warren Buffett’s rationale for investing in Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of truck stops in North America.

But what about truck drivers?

Companies from Ford Motor Co. to Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo are developing cars and trucks designed to operate without human oversight, potentially limiting demand for the pizza, coffee and restrooms at Pilot’s and Flying J’s 750 travel centers.



RELATED: Drivers remain essential amid autonomous technology, trucking execs tell senate panel

The trucking economy — including drivers, manufacturers and truck-stop employees — accounts for about 7.5 million U.S. jobs, according to American Trucking Associations.

Buffett, 87, isn’t concerned. “It’s not something I am going to lose sleep over,” the multibillionaire told Bloomberg’s Ed Hammond in an interview.

“Who knows when driverless trucks are going to come along and what level of penetration they have,” Buffett said.