Rivian puts self-driving at the centre of its plans as the R2 ramps up

CEO RJ Scaringe spent nearly half of the earnings call on autonomy, and less on the production ramp of the R2 SUV. The R2 recently became Rivian's best-selling vehicle by volume.

Rivian's autonomy plan

1. 2026

   Point-to-point driving goes to employees for testing

2. 2027

   The feature reaches customers

3. 2028

   First robotaxis, with Uber

Rivian plans to roll out hands-free point-to-point driving to employees in 2026 and customers in 2027. Its first robotaxis are due in 2028, in partnership with Uber.

Growth in software and services revenue

45 % a year

Rivian's software and services revenue rose 45 per cent year over year in the third quarter, with a 42 per cent profit margin.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving is in more than 1.7 million customer cars. Rivian warned that two extra processors and costly lidar sensors on some R2 models could eat into its profits.