Rivian has introduced the Autonomy+ system, which will allow users to input an address and travel to any point in the U.S. and Canada. This is Level 2+: the driver is required to monitor the road. The debut is set for the end of 2026. Price: $49.99/month or $2,500 one-time, compared to $99/month for Tesla FSD and $3,950 for three years with Mercedes MB.Drive Assist Pro.
A key development is the proprietary RAP1 chip: 5 nm, 800 TOPS, three times faster than Nvidia Jetson Orin. The manufacturer is TSMC. In the module, two chips provide 1,600 TOPS and 5 billion pixels/second compared to 3.5 billion for Nvidia Thor. According to Vidya Rajagopalan, SVP of Electronics, the simultaneous development of the chip and software saved a year. The system integrates 11 cameras, 5 radars, and lidar (since the beginning of the year). Data is processed by LDM (Large Driving Model), operating on hundreds of trillions of operations per second. 125,000 vehicles supply data for training, with updates coming monthly.
Rivian's sales stand at 42,000 vehicles per year compared to 1.6 million for Tesla and 11 million for Toyota. Volkswagen is investing up to $5.8 billion in a joint venture. Uber will invest $1.25 billion: 50,000 robotaxis, starting with 10,000 in San Francisco and Miami in 2028. RJ Scaringe promises Level 4 in consumer Rivians by 2030. James Philbin, SVP of Autonomy, believes that Level 3 (highway only) is a step towards Level 4. The main barriers are legal liability, union resistance, and the patchwork regulation of states.
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