Rivian Takes On Tesla In Self-Driving Race With Level 4 Autonomy Goal, $49.99/Month Subscription, R2 LiDAR
Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) announced that it was entering the autonomous driving race with its new AI chip, targeting Level 4 autonomy.
Rivian Autonomy Processor 1
During Rivian's Autonomy and AI day event on Thursday, company CEO RJ Scaringe showcased the automaker's autonomous driving strategy, highlighting the company's Rivian Autonomy Processor (RAP1) as its proprietary chip, which can help the company's Gen 3 Autonomy Computer "process 5 billion pixels per second."
The company also outlined a LiDAR and camera-based approach to autonomous driving, adding that the upcoming R2 models would be fitted with LiDAR sensors. The vehicles will have 11 cameras, 5 radars and a front-facing LiDAR sensor.
The company also unveiled its Universal Hands Free assisted driving system, which can drive on over 3.5 million miles of road across the U.S. and Canada if the "lanes are clearly marked."
The company said that the feature enables autonomous lane changes on highways when the blinkers are turned on "when the time is right." UHF driving will be coming to second-generation R1 models in the future.
"We plan to continuously improve the autonomy capabilities of its Gen 2 R1 and future R2 vehicles," Rivian said, adding that it was targeting "point-to-point, eyes off and personal L4 [autonomy]."
Rivian's Autonomy+ Subscription
The company also revealed its Autonomy+ subscription, available for a one-time payment of $2,500 or a monthly subscription fee of $49.99. The automaker said that the technology would launch in early 2026.
In comparison to Rivian, Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) is available for a one-time payment of $8,000 or a monthly subscription of $99/month.
It's also worth noting that Tesla favors a camera-only approach to autonomous vehicles. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had recently said that the company had "pretty much" solved Unsupervised FSD and touted driverless Robotaxis in Austin before the end of the month.
Gary Black Weighs In
Sharing his thoughts on the social media platform X on Thursday, investor Gary Black reaffirmed his stance of calling unsupervised autonomous driving "table stakes" for automakers.
He added that Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), with 450,000 autonomous rides per week via Waymo, as well as Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU), with the Apollo Go Robotaxi hitting the 250,000-rides-per-week milestone, were leading the autonomy race with Tesla.
However, the investor added that companies like Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Pony AI (NASDAQ:PONY) and WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ:WRD), among others, will also launch "autonomous ride-hailing" platforms in 2026.
Ross Gerber Says Uber Is Cooked
With the advent of autonomous vehicles, investor Ross Gerber hailed Waymo's progress in the sector. He also reiterated that Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) could face challenges from Waymo's surge across multiple cities in the country. "Uber is cooked," Gerber said.
Rivian scores well on Momentum, while offering satisfactory Growth. It also has a favorable price trend in the Short, Medium and Long term. For more such insights, sign up for Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings today!
Price Action: RIVN surged 1.22% to $16.63 during After-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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