Rivian is committed to self-driving, pushing deeper into territory that Tesla has long dominated.
On Thursday at Rivian's research and development offices in Palo Alto, the EV maker unveiled a roadmap for developing self-driving capabilities for its future vehicle lineup, including new hardware for the long-awaited R2, Rivian's cheapest car to date.
The roadmap includes new silicon chips designed in-house that will power Rivian's next-generation hardware and support self-driving capabilities. Rivian says the new hardware is expected to ship with R2 by the end of 2026.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has hinted at autonomous ambitions in recent years. But since the company's first shipments of vehicles in 2021, Rivian's advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) software, Driver+, and the Rivian Autonomy Platform have looked more like Tesla's Autopilot than fully autonomous driving supervision. Tesla's Autopilot provides lane centering and adaptive cruise control, and FSD can recognize traffic lights, turn, and drive to your destination under constant driver supervision.
Thursday's announcement further deepens the conflict between Rivian and Tesla, as both companies have expressed goals for full self-driving and licensing their software platforms to other automakers.
Rivian's partnership with Volkswagen, announced last year, was a clear step toward those licensing ambitions. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently told Company X that no automaker would license FSD.
Here are four ways Rivian is taking a page from Tesla's playbook.
In-house chip
Rivian's new Autonomy Compute Module 3, the hardware that powers self-driving cars, features the company's first in-house silicon chip. Rivian
Rivian has been using a combination of Nvidia and Qualcomm Snapdragon chips to power various vehicle features such as driver assistance and infotainment systems.
The company is now turning to its own silicon to power the next generation of self-driving hardware.
“At the core of Rivian's technology roadmap is a transition to in-house silicon specifically designed for vision-centric physical AI,” the company said.
A Rivian spokesperson told Business Insider that the chips will be manufactured by TSMC.
Tesla began shifting production to its own chips in 2019 and has since released two versions: AI3 and AI4. Musk said Tesla's next-generation chip, AI5, is 40 times better than the previous generation.
Rivian's “Gen 3 Autonomy” hardware is being validated and is expected to ship with R2 by the end of 2026, the company said.
Towards complete autonomy
Rivian plans to release updates to its advanced driver assistance systems. Rivian
With the new chip, Rivian's clear goal is to achieve full self-driving. This is Level 4, or the kind of self-driving technology found in Alphabet's Waymo, which requires no driver supervision.
Mr. Musk has already made Tesla fully autonomous, promising to turn all personally owned Teslas into revenue-generating robotaxis.
Tesla's CEO's goals have been viewed with considerable skepticism, particularly due to the company's decision to abandon LIDAR, a sensor considered essential to the safety and redundancy of self-driving cars by many industry leaders.
Rivian plans to incorporate LIDAR into its R2 vehicles. The sensor seems to be installed inside the car, just above the center of the windshield.
A Rivian spokesperson told Business Insider that the company worked with a third party on the “exterior design” of Rivian's “lidar implementation.”
The company did not disclose when fully autonomous driving will begin.
In the near future, Rivian plans to update its ADAS to include hands-free assisted driving capabilities. According to the press release, this feature does not work on all roads.
Rivian said it can be used on “more than 3.5 million miles of roads across the United States and Canada” and can also be driven “off-highway on clearly delineated roads.”
Subscription model like FSD
Rivian follows an FSD subscription model that Tesla calls Autonomy+.
The software will launch in “early 2026” and will cost $49.99 per month, or $2,500 for a one-time purchase.
Tesla's FSD costs $99 per month or $8,000 upfront.
Rivian said the software will be continually updated. The automaker says the “trajectory” feature includes “point-to-point” navigation, where the user enters a destination and the car drives itself, similar to FSD, as well as eye-off driving and “personal L4” features.
A Rivian spokesperson told Business Insider that “hundreds of millions of miles are contributing to the development of Autonomy+.”
“This data is comprised of samples taken from around the United States and Canada throughout the year, capturing diversity in both geography and seasonality,” the spokesperson said.
AI voice assistant
Rivian's AI interface allows drivers to control certain vehicle functions through voice commands. Rivian
Musk announced in July that xAI's Grok would be integrated into Tesla cars to provide a chatbot that drivers can talk to and, more recently, ask for directions.
The automaker says Rivian plans to follow a similar strategy with Rivian Assistant, a “model-independent” AI voice interface.
“Our framework allows you to tune different models and choose the best one for the task,” a Rivian spokesperson said.
The company said in a press release that its AI assistant can connect to third-party apps, starting with integration with Google Calendar.
The AI assistant can also assist with vehicle diagnostics and control certain vehicle functions, such as activating the car's seat heaters.
This feature is expected to be available on first and second generation R1 vehicles in early 2026.
