In this article RIVN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT
Rivian debuted new tech at its first "Autonomy and AI Day" in Palo Alto, California, Dec. 11, 2025. Credit: Rivian
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive has developed a custom chip, car computer and new artificial intelligence models that will enable it to bring self-driving features to its forthcoming vehicles, the company revealed at its first "Autonomy and AI Day" on Thursday here. Shares of Rivian were off roughly 3% during the hourlong event, and fell further as OpenAI made its own AI announcement Thursday, revealing its most advanced model yet. The stock was down as much as 9% in afternoon trading. Rivian also said it plans to roll out an Autonomy+ subscription with "continuously expanding capabilities" to customers of its second-generation vehicles in early 2026, to be powered by its Rivian Autonomy Processors and autonomy computers. The Autonomy+ offering will be priced at $2,500 as a one-time, up-front purchase or is available for $49.99 per month to start. By comparison, competitor Tesla offers its premium FSD (Supervised) option for $8,000 up front or a $99 per month fee.
watch now
"AI is enabling us to create technology and customer experiences at a rate that is completely different from what we've seen in the past," Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said during the event. Company executives said in a statement that a near-future software update will include a "Universal Hands-Free," capability, enabling Rivian customers "hands-free driving" on more than 3.5 million miles of roads in North America, covering the vast majority of marked roads in the U.S. Scaringe said the new advanced driver-assistance system will continue to improve as more miles are driven, through reinforced learning. Unlike its primary competitor, Tesla, Rivian said it intends to use lidar, or light detection and ranging, systems and radar sensors in its forthcoming R2 cars to enable "level 4," or fully automated driving, as defined by SAE Levels of Driving Automation. A passenger can sleep in the back seat in a level 4 self-driving car while it carries them to their destination in normal traffic and weather conditions. Waymo, the Alphabet -owned robotaxi leader in the U.S., considers its vehicles level 4.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe at the company's first "Autonomy and AI Day" on Dec. 11, 2025, in Palo Alto, California. Lora Kolodny | CNBC
Scaringe said Thursday the company's forthcoming self-driving vehicles enable it to pursue robotaxis, which Tesla has promised for years but has yet to launch. "Now, while our initial focus will be on personally owned vehicles, which today represent a vast majority of the miles to the United States, this also enables us to pursue opportunities in the rideshare space," Scaringe said during the event. Rivian is not alone in aiming to deliver autonomous systems that meet level 4 expectations, while rolling out partially automated features along the way to drivers who generally want these to reduce fatigue on long drives or make them safer behind the wheel overall. Tesla and General Motors are working on their own proprietary driverless systems, while Honda , Lucid and Nissan have partnered with venture-backed autonomous vehicle tech startups (Helm.AI, Nuro and Wayve, respectively) to develop similar systems with a range of different technical approaches.
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Rivian and Tesla stock's since Rivian went public.