Rivian is pouring its efforts into developing autonomous driving software for its electric vehicles—even at the cost of delaying profitability. Last week, at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, founder and CEO RJ Scaringe stated that he believes autonomous technology will enable the company to create vehicle models fundamentally different from the outdoor-oriented SUVs and trucks it currently produces.
“The really interesting part is when you look beyond the R2 and R3 and start imagining the form factors you’d want for a personally owned autonomous vehicle. It opens up all sorts of design possibilities and creates an entirely different experience,” he said in an interview with TechCrunch. “I’m incredibly excited about what the next decade holds for transportation—it really allows us to dream and explore new ideas.”
This is, of course, not a new concept. A decade ago, autonomous vehicle companies, legacy automakers, and many others promised that the convergence of self-driving technology and battery-electric powertrains—which are simpler and more compact than internal combustion engines—would spark an explosion of new modes of mobility.
At the time, this led to a flurry of imaginative, unconventional concepts. Mercedes-Benz, for instance, heavily promoted a rounded, pod-like design, as well as a long-wheelbase sedan packed with cutting-edge technology. Toyota and others envisioned “rooms on wheels,” while Hyundai even showcased a “walking car” concept.
Ultimately, this highly anticipated design revolution never moved beyond the stage of concepts and prototypes. The development of autonomous technology proved far slower than companies had anticipated, and automakers—both new and established—had to confront the harsh realities of manufacturing and selling entirely new types of vehicles.
What’s different today is that Scaringe’s comments come at a time when genuine, driverless robotaxis are already appearing on the streets of cities around the world. The software powering these vehicles appears to have advanced to a point where they can operate safely and at scale on public roads—though challenges remain regarding their full integration into urban transport networks, which include other cars, cyclists, pedestrians, and emergency vehicles. The component costs for electric vehicle motors and batteries have decreased, and companies like Tesla and Rivian—along with many others in China—are becoming increasingly proficient at large-scale production.
Rivian still has a long way to go before it can venture into the realm of autonomous vehicles. The company is currently in the early stages of mass-producing its R2 SUV; it must ensure the success of this model to reverse years of losses incurred in its pursuit of becoming a major player in the electric vehicle industry.
In the realm of autonomous driving, Rivian is only a few years removed from a complete overhaul of its approach to self-driving software, yet it still has a long way to go.
The company has rolled out a driver-assistance system that allows motorists to take their hands off the steering wheel, provided they keep their eyes on the road. Rivian has promised that by the end of this year, its software will be capable of end-to-end autonomous navigation—a feature the company calls “point-to-point navigation”—requiring no human intervention, though driver supervision will still be necessary. Furthermore, the company is working toward full autonomous driving, with plans to deploy it in a robotaxi version of its R2 SUV, which would be made available via the Uber ride-hailing app.
However, in an interview, Scaringe noted that even if Rivian achieves full autonomy, the vast majority of driving will still be performed by privately owned vehicles—a sentiment that echoes his previous remarks.
“You know, in the U.S., 95% of all miles driven—that’s trillions of miles—are covered by personally owned vehicles, like your own car or a family vehicle. So, we believe that even if autonomous vehicles reach Level 4—a classification by the Society of Automotive Engineers for self-driving cars that operate within specific areas—it’s unlikely to trigger a massive, society-wide shift,” he said.
“That figure might drop from 95% to 90%, or perhaps to 80%, but for a variety of social and psychological reasons, the vast majority of miles driven will likely remain as they are,” he added.
Scaringe noted that it is precisely this conviction that drives his vision of designing a fully autonomous, personally owned Rivian vehicle.
As for what that might actually look like, Scaringe remains tight-lipped.
“We started with the R1, then the R2, followed by the R3. The model after the R3 will be called the R4—and we haven’t revealed what that looks like yet,” he said. “It’s going to be cool—really fantastic.”