Rivian Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) CEO RJ Scaringe said on Friday that the company expects to move its driver-assist stack from supervised point-to-point driving, similar to Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Full-Self Driving (Supervised), later this year to an unsupervised mode next year.
Rivian Targets Tesla Robotaxi-Like Experience For 2027
Scaringe said during an appearance on the Masters of Scale podcast that this step is aimed at letting drivers take their attention off the road and eventually enabling vehicles to operate without anyone inside.
The autonomy push comes as Illinois Gov. Jay Robert Pritzker touted Rivian's R2 production ramp in Illinois, calling it a milestone for the state and saying he has placed a reservation.
In Illinois, Pritzker used social media on Tuesday to spotlight the Normal factory where the R2 is being ramped, noting the site previously belonged to Mitsubishi and sat idle for about a decade before Rivian's buildout. He described the restart as job creation for central Illinois and a boost to the state's manufacturing footprint.
Pritzker said he knows many people who have put down deposits for the R2 and added that he is one of them. He called the moment a big day for both Rivian and Illinois as the company accelerates the production ramp in Normal.
Rivian's Gen-2 Vehicles To Get Tesla FSD-Like Driving Capabilities
Scaringe explained that its supervised point-to-point system is intended to resemble Tesla's FSD approach and will be pushed to all of its Gen 2 vehicles, including the R2.
The Rivian CEO said the following phase would be unsupervised driving next year, with a longer-term target of true driverless operation where the vehicle can run with no person in the cabin.
That timeline matters to buyers because both the R2 production ramp and any shift to unsupervised driving could change what customers can do with a personal vehicle and what risks they take on the wheel.
Rivian's Ambitious Roadmap For Autonomy
Scaringe framed the move beyond supervised driving as more than a convenience feature, arguing it opens the door to new revenue streams once cars can operate fully on their own. He specifically pointed to robotaxis as one of the business models it expects to become viable as capability improves.
"We’ve been developing that for a while for our personal vehicles, but we also see it unlocking new business models, robotaxi being one of them," he said.
Scaringe also said it partnered with Uber to concentrate on the underlying technology while leaning on Uber for distribution, describing the ride-hailing platform as unmatched in scale and reach. The company positioned the deal as a way to avoid building a massive consumer network from scratch while it works toward autonomy that can support commercial use cases.
Is Rivian's R2 Set To Disrupt The Market?
Early reactions to the R2 have helped set expectations for where Rivian wants to compete, including comparisons to Tesla's best-selling crossover. Tech reviewer Marques Brownlee said the R2 could serve as a successor to the Tesla Model Y.
Even with the focus on consumer models like the R2, a large share of Rivian's current business has been tied to commercial customers. More than half of the first-quarter (Q1) automotive revenue, about $468 million out of $908 million total revenue, came from fleet van sales to Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Rivian's autonomy roadmap is aimed at personal vehicles first, but the company said the same work supports future driverless operation that could be used commercially. The pairing of consumer tech development with potential fleet economics fits with Rivian’s view that robotaxi-style services could become a meaningful extension of the product.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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