The robot maneuvered its way through the cafeteria at Rivian’s Palo Alto office, where chilled cans of coffee lined the shelves — until it suddenly stopped. A few minutes later, a man had to gently nudge it aside, as the words “I’m stuck” flashed in yellow on the robot’s screen.
This wasn’t the best kickoff for Rivian’s “Autonomy & AI Day,” which aimed to highlight the company’s ambitions to develop self-driving vehicles. Although Rivian isn’t responsible for the cafeteria robot, its hiccup served as a reminder: achieving autonomy is tough.
Later on, I took a 15-minute ride in a 2025 R1S SUV, showcasing Rivian’s new “Large Driving Model.” The SUV, equipped with automated driving software, took us along a winding road close to the company’s headquarters. As we passed Tesla’s engineering building, I noticed a Model S ahead slow down to enter their lot. The R1S recognized this and braked hard just as the Rivian employee behind the wheel nearly had to step in.
During my ride, there was one situation where the employee had to take control due to tree-trimming operations along a narrow road—an expected but minor hiccup. I noticed several other demo rides also experienced similar disengagements.
The remainder of the drive went smoothly for software still in development. Notably, Rivian had abandoned its previous rules-based driver assistance system in favor of an end-to-end approach, similar to how Tesla builds its Full Self-Driving system. During the ride, the vehicle halted at stoplights, navigated turns, and slowed for speed bumps, all without needing pre-set commands.
A Quiet Shift in 2021
Rivian’s old system was “very deterministic and structured,” explained CEO RJ Scaringe in an interview. “Every action was based on a control strategy written by humans.”
When transformer-based AI started gaining traction in 2021, Scaringe restructured the team and decided to create a self-driving platform focused on AI.
After spending significant time developing this new driving software, Rivian introduced it in 2024 with their second-generation R1 vehicles powered by Nvidia’s Orin processors. Scaringe noted that they started seeing significant advancements once they began gathering extensive data.
Rivian is betting that it can train its Large Driving Model (LDM) quickly enough to roll out what it calls “Universal Hands-Free” driving by early 2026. This means Rivian owners will be able to drive hands-free on 3.5 million miles of roads across the U.S. and Canada, as long as there are visible lane markings. By late 2026, the company plans to implement “point-to-point” driving, which is essentially the consumer version of the demo I experienced.
The ‘Eyes Off’ to ‘Hands Off’ Challenge
By the end of 2026, as Rivian begins shipping its smaller and more affordable R2 SUVs, it will replace the Nvidia chips with a newly unveiled custom autonomy computer and lidar sensor. This setup should enable drivers to take their hands and eyes off the road. However, achieving true autonomy, where drivers don’t need to reclaim control of the vehicle, will largely depend on how fast Rivian can refine its LDM.
This plan brings a near-term challenge for Rivian. Since the new autonomy hardware won’t be ready for some time after the R2 launches, customers who want vehicles that support eyes-off driving will need to wait. The R2 is essential for Rivian, especially after struggling sales of its first-generation models.
“When tech evolves so rapidly, there’s always a risk of obsolescence, so we aim to be transparent about upcoming changes,” Scaringe stated. Early R2 models will still offer Rivian’s planned “point-to-point” driving—hands-free but not eyes-free.
“So, if you’re purchasing an R2 within the first nine months, expect a more limited feature set,” he explained. “Some customers will choose to wait for better capabilities, while others will prefer to get the R2 now and possibly trade it in later. Fortunately, due to the high demand for R2, we believe being upfront helps customers make informed choices.”
“In an ideal world, everything would align perfectly, but the vehicle and the autonomy platform timelines don’t match seamlessly,” he remarked.
During a previous conversation in 2018, before Rivian unveiled its vehicles, Scaringe had shared an ambitious goal: he wanted Rivian vehicles to drive themselves to meet you at the end of your hiking trail.
It was a bold vision for self-driving tech that intrigued many back then, and it resonated with Rivian’s adventurous spirit.
Scaringe mentioned that he still believes such a scenario is achievable within a few years, albeit after rigorous testing and development of the improved R2 vehicles, which are at least a year away.
“We could do that, but it hasn’t been a major focus just yet,” he admitted. However, this might shift as the company approaches level 4 autonomy, allowing their LDM to navigate more complicated roads without features like lane markings.
“Then, it becomes a question of the operational design domain: dirt roads, off-road? No problem,” he added. Just don’t expect a Rivian to autonomously traverse rocky terrains.
“We’re not dedicating resources to autonomous rock crawling,” he disclosed. “But getting to the trailhead? Absolutely.”
