Most of what you're claiming will be impossible for automated trucks to do such as hooking themselves to chargers or navigating cramped spaces or hooking up air lines, they can already do. The technology already exists for all of that and can easily be adapted to trucking if/when needed.

But you're right, some things like performing pretrips and securing loads won't be easy to automate. So those tasks will still be done by a human. And when I say 'a human' I mean exactly that, one person. One person or a small team will inspect trucks all day long. That will be their job. They won't need a CDL although some other sort of 'inspection cert' might end up being developed and required.

There are already tons of companies with employees whose job it is to open and close trailer doors and crank landing gear all day long. They're called yard jockeys. Perhaps you've heard of them. At many of those companies, the yard jockeys do not have CDL's nor any kind of trucking training beyond the afternoon or two they spent being trained by another company employee.

And you're wrong about the costs going up. Automated trucks won't have a 14 hour clock. They won't need health insurance or a 401k. They won't need time off to go to Vegas with their girlfriend or go hunting with their buddies. That will ultimately make shipping via automated truck cheaper and shipping via manually driven truck more expensive.

The writing is on the wall. Its just a question of how soon it comes about. Some seem to think it'll be 100 years from now but I would put my money on seeing the first commercial applications starting in less than 10 years and wide spread use in less than 25 years.