Torc Robotics announced on May 12 that it has appointed Tobias Wessels as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In an official announcement, the company stated that Wessels will support the company in advancing the scaling and commercialization of Level 4 autonomous trucks, as well as contributing to other long-term strategic initiatives.

Torc CEO Peter Vaughan Schmidt said that Wessels' career is "highly aligned with the development trajectory of autonomous driving technology." Schmidt stated in the announcement: "His combination of deep tech operations experience and transatlantic communication skills makes him an ideal partner to work with our team and Daimler Truck to bring autonomous freight to market."

The company's former CFO, Richard Kannan, passed away in December of last year. Wessels' appointment fills this vacancy.

According to the announcement, Wessels previously served as Chief Development Officer at Helm.ai, overseeing finance, corporate development, and international expansion, including the establishment of the Stuttgart operations and collaboration with the Volkswagen Group. He also served as Chief Corporate Development Officer at Udelv, an autonomous electric delivery company, and as CFO of Alphabet's "moonshot factory" X, where he laid the financial foundation for several projects, including what later became Waymo.

Wessels stated that his current focus is on "building a financial infrastructure that matches Torc's technological and commercial ambitions." He added: "Torc occupies a position that no other autonomous trucking company can match—strategic support from Daimler Truck, a clear focus on freight, and the technology and team to deliver at scale."