By Christopher Otts
Rivian is doubling down on an AI-centric approach to develop fully autonomous vehicles, as the money-losing electric-vehicle maker faces a tough market for its trucks and SUVs.
Rivian's hands-free driving feature will be updated later this month to more closely resemble Tesla's system when the company expands its availability to a territory more than 20 times its current size.
Rivian has also developed its own computer chip -- as Tesla has -- to enable its vehicles to quickly process data from the road and feed the AI model that powers its self-driving. As more Rivians are on the road, more real-world data will be generated to train the company's AI model that powers its self-driving function, Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said.
"Our approach to building self-driving is really designed around this data flywheel," Scaringe said at its "Autonomy and AI Day" in Silicon Valley Thursday.
Investors seemed underwhelmed. Rivian's shares closed down 6% at $16.43.
Next year, the company's newer vehicles will get point-to-point hands-free navigation, the next step toward offering drivers the ability to take their eyes off the road and, eventually, relinquish any role in the driving, Scaringe said. He didn't give a timeline for the eyes-off and fully autonomous features.
"You can be on your phone or reading a book, no longer needing to be actively involved in the operation of the vehicle," Scaringe said. Eventually, Rivian owners will send their children to school in a self-driving vehicle or ask the vehicle to come get them from the airport, he added.
Rivian's hands-free driving feature will expand later this month to cover 3.5 million miles of roads in North America, up from about 135,000 miles of divided highways today. The improvements will be available on the second generation of Rivian's R1 trucks and SUVs, sold since mid-2024.
"If there is a painted line and it's clearly marked, you can now drive hands free," James Philbin, Rivian's vice president of autonomy and AI, said.
In March 2026 the company will start charging for its hands-free feature, either for $50 a month or a one-time charge of $2,500. Tesla charges $99 monthly or $8,000 for its driver-assistance product.
Rivian, which has sold high-end EVs at a loss for its 14-year history, is under pressure to reach profitability and expand its appeal. The company plans an SUV called R2 next year that will start at $45,000, which is significantly less expensive than its current trucks.
The company's ability to stay relevant in the EV market depends on keeping pace with Tesla's self-driving product, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a Dec. 7 research note.
Rivian's core business faces challenges. EV buyers can no longer receive a $7,500 federal tax credit, and President Trump's relaxation of fuel-economy rules has decimated the market for regulatory credits that Tesla and Rivian relied on selling to traditional automakers.
Besides Tesla, automakers spending significant money to develop self-driving include EV startup Lucid and General Motors, the country's biggest automaker by volume.
GM has said it plans to add eyes-off capability to its highway-only hands-free system called Super Cruise, starting in 2028 with a high-end Cadillac EV.
Write to Christopher Otts at christopher.otts@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 11, 2025 17:11 ET (22:11 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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