Shares of Aurora Innovation ( NASDAQ:AUR) are trading around $5.21 as retail investor sentiment deteriorates sharply. Reddit discussions show sentiment plunging to 31.75 over the past week, firmly in bearish territory, down from a neutral 53.55 over the quarter. The shift coincides with growing skepticism about Aurora's path to profitability despite operational milestones like surpassing 100,000 driverless miles and launching a 600-mile Fort Worth to El Paso route.
Aurora also shared details on next-generation hardware, which is made by Fabrinet and is being integrated with the Volvo VNL Autonomous trucks. Aurora plans to build 100s of trucks with its next-gen hardware in 2026. It says the hardware is more durable and has better performance, yet it is half the overall cost. The company's new generation of lidar detects objects 1,000 meters away, which is twice the distance of its current generation.