Inside Plus: Earl Adams Jr., VP of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs
When Earl Adams Jr. received a call from Plus last year, he was working as a partner at Hogan Lovells and assumed executives wanted to retain him as their lawyer. Instead, Plus asked the former FMCSA Deputy Administrator and Chief Counsel to join the company, focusing on policy and compliance as the startup moves closer to commercialization of its autonomous trucking software.
Adams first encountered Plus in 2022, when he was overseeing the FMCSA team that was working to develop rules for self-driving heavy-duty vehicles. He was impressed by their focus on safety and the “thoughtful and meticulous” approach to developing and commercializing driverless technology. “I was very pleased to get the invitation to join the company,” he said.
Six months into his new position, Adams shares his job goals, thoughts on Plus’s competitive advantage and how he spends his downtime in Washington DC, where he lives with his wife and two children.
1. What do you aim to accomplish in the second half of 2025?
“The number one goal is to help raise awareness and amplify our message in the Texas Triangle, where we are targeting the commercial launch of factory-built driverless trucks powered by Plus’s SuperDrive virtual driver in 2027. This involves identifying stakeholders who can be third-party validators, exposing people to our technology and helping educate as many people about the technology, and its safety and efficiency benefits.”
2. Describe a typical day on the job.
“There are several buckets. I’m a regulatory lawyer by training. So on any given day I’m looking at policies and standards and making sure we are in compliance with requirements and best practices. That requires a lot of internal engagement.
The second bucket is being an evangelist for Plus and autonomy at various conferences. I love to say: ‘Plus is the most consequential software developer that everyone needs to know about.’ I was recently at the ‘Texas Innovation Invitational’ conference in Fort Worth with the Texas DOT and Texas Innovation Alliance and have several more conferences lined up for the fall, including an international mobility conference where I will be speaking on global policy issues for autonomous vehicles.
The third is direct stakeholder engagement. During my six-month tenure, I have met with scores of Texas organizations and stakeholders to introduce Plus and our technology. In addition to meeting with elected officials, like members of the Texas Congressional delegation and state leaders, I focus a lot of my time on local government officials and regional planning organizations to discuss how our technology will improve safety and freight movement in their communities. My meetings with groups like the Austin San Antonio Corridor Council, Houston-Galveston Area Council and North Central Texas Council of Governments, have been essential to helping Plus understand the needs of the community, and more importantly, how we can be better partners to them. I also regularly talk about the potential economic benefits of autonomy with business and community groups, like the Greater Dallas Metropolitan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Austin Area Urban League and Dallas Chamber of Commerce.”
3. How did your experience at FMCSA shape your perspective on autonomous trucks?
“At USDOT and FMCSA, we always said that ‘safety is our north star.’ Forty-seven thousand people lose their lives annually on American highways, so one of our goals was to find ways to leverage technology to improve safety and reduce the number of crashes and fatalities. We believed that autonomous vehicles represented one of the most potentially beneficial solutions to solving this major problem.
“We were also focused on how to create pipelines to expand the pool of potential long haul truck drivers. Trucking is a profession but we realized that we were unlikely to enlarge the pool because young people today want flexibility and the ability to be home every night. We focused on multiple solutions to the driver shortage, and again identified that autonomy technology had the potential to create new job pathways that were better aligned with today’s workforce.
The third element is economic. As a result of the COVID pandemic, I saw first-hand the delicate nature of the nation’s supply chain and the importance of ensuring the continued movement of freight across the nation. Since COVID, the demand for freight has only increased and I believed then and more so now that autonomous trucks will be a key part to addressing the need.”
4. You’ve worked in government and a corporate law firm. What’s it like working for a startup?
“The culture is very welcoming. I had this impression of startups, technology startups in particular, as: ‘Break it first, then fix it.’ That’s not the right approach when it comes to a safety-centric technology like autonomous vehicles. When I look at the culture of Plus, one of the things I really like is that it’s very thoughtful and methodical: let’s test, retest and then validate.
Autonomous driving is an industry where no one company can do it alone, so partnerships and collaboration are key. I see this collaborative spirit every day at Plus, both in the way we work internally, with our partners, and with others in the industry.
What excites me most is our mission to bring Level 4 autonomy to market with SuperDrive™ at a global scale. We’ve built deep trust with our customers and partners, and it says a lot that three of the world’s largest and most respected truck OEMs have chosen Plus to power their autonomous journey.”
5. What do you do when you’re not working?
“I have two teenage boys, so my hobbies are their hobbies, which currently is mostly basketball. I’m one of those Uber ATM dads (which I love!).”
