Rivian told the entire tech and auto industry to step aside on Thursday when it dropped a full in-house autonomy stack; custom-built AI models, its own vehicle computer, and a new self-driving chip.
The announcement was made during Rivian’s first-ever Autonomy and AI Day, and it caused the RIVN stock to crash by over 4%, though things got worse fast, because by the closing bell, RIVN was down as much as 9%, perhaps made worse by OpenAI’s separate announcement of its most advanced model yet.
And Nvidia, already under pressure as automakers bring AI chips in-house, closed down 2%. One automaker unveiling its own AI hardware was enough to shake the very market Nvidia’s riding on.
Rivian undercuts Tesla with cheaper Autonomy+ pricing
During the event, Rivian also revealed its new driver-assist plan Autonomy+, which is set to go live in early 2026 with its second-generation vehicles, ran on the company’s Rivian Autonomy Processors and internal computer systems.
The subscription has two pricing options: $2,500 up front or $49.99 per month. For context, Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) goes for $8,000 or $99 per month.
CEO RJ Scaringe didn’t hold back during the event. “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,” he said, outlining how Rivian’s software-driven approach is now evolving into an AI-driven platform.
The company also plans to drop a major software update soon, introducing “Universal Hands-Free” driving across 3.5 million miles of roads in North America.
According to executives, the update will allow drivers to operate hands-free on the majority of marked roads across the U.S. It’s a move meant to reduce driver fatigue and compete with rival semi-autonomous features.
Scaringe emphasized that Rivian’s tech will keep learning as people drive. The system, powered by reinforced learning, is expected to improve over time without needing hardware changes. That puts pressure on rivals still trying to optimize existing platforms.
Rivian targets Level 4 autonomy and robotaxi market
Here’s the bigger play: Rivian said it’s designing its R2 vehicles with Level 4 autonomy in mind, the stage where a car can operate without human help in most conditions. Unlike Tesla, which avoids lidar, Rivian is embracing lidar and radar sensors to hit that Level 4 bar.
That means passengers could literally fall asleep in the back seat while the car handles everything. Scaringe said Thursday that Rivian’s tech could eventually support robotaxis, taking on the promise Tesla hasn’t yet delivered.
“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,” he said.
It’s a crowded space, though. Waymo already operates Level 4 robotaxis. Meanwhile, General Motors and Tesla are building their own closed ecosystems, while others like Honda, Lucid, and Nissan are working with startups like Helm.AI, Nuro, and Wayve to get there with different strategies.
Backing all of Rivian’s self-driving work is its new in-house chip, scheduled to debut in 2026. Vidya Rajagopalan, VP of electrical hardware, said the chip uses “multi-chip module” architecture and delivers 205 GB/s of memory bandwidth, what she called “key for AI applications.”
That chip will power not just the Autonomy+ system, but also a new voice assistant. The “Rivian Assistant”, another product set to launch in 2026, will appear across the company’s current and next-gen vehicles. It’s voice-controlled, AI-powered, and designed to replace today’s static in-car interfaces.
Wassym Bensaid, the company’s Chief Software Officer, said: “Rivian is uniquely positioned to move from a software-defined vehicle and bring to the world an AI-defined vehicle.”
All of this is happening while Rivian’s trying to win over investors. U.S. EV sales have cooled off, especially after the $7,500 federal EV tax credit was scrapped by the Trump administration in September.
On top of that, Chinese EV makers are ramping up globally.
Despite being up 25% this year, Rivian’s stock is still down more than 80% since its 2021 IPO. With Nvidia’s reliance on external AI chip clients being tested, the market took note… and hit sell.
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