mpshizzle
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I just got back from Rivian’s Autonomy Day, and if I had to summarize the experience in a word, it would be: wowthatwasalotofinformationandit'ssocoolandtheeingineersoverthereareamazing.
As always - the YouTube version has more details and visuals (which is important to for the stuff I'm talking about here)
Check it out on Thunder Volt Auto:
Seriously, the engineers were so passionate and excited, and it was so cool to chat with them about what they've been working on behind closed doors for a long while! Also big shoutout to them for bringing me out there, it was incredible to meet and talk with all of these good (and incredibly smart) folks
There’s a ton to unpack, from an end to the highway geo-fence to Rivian’s answer to Tesla’s FSD.
1. The Geo-Fence is Officially De-Fenced
For anyone who owns a current R1, this is a big one, and it's coming in the next week or two.
Universal Hands-Free (UHF), and it's a massive shift. UHF is designed to work on any road that has reasonably marked lanes—which translates to over 3.5 million miles of roads in the U.S. and Canada. You can bet your bottom dollar I will be testing this up and down when 2025.46 comes out. Roads with faded lines, roads with only a center line, and even completely unmarked roads where my R1 hallucinates lane lines that don't exist.
One catch with this one: you’re still required to manage things like traffic lights and stop signs for now. While the system *is* capable of recognizing them (we saw a point-to-point demo doing exactly that), it's not consistent enough yet to push it live to us.
2. Point-to-Point Driving: Rivian’s FSD Challenger
The second huge announcement was the preview of their Point-to-Point Driving system. This is Rivian’s direct answer to the full-stack self-driving systems we've seen elsewhere.
I got a demo ride near their office, and while it’s still rough around the edges (it’s an early engineering build, after all) it was felt smooth and confident.
The drive was *mostly* excellent, but, we had two disengagements: once when the system attempted to sail right through a red stoplight , and another time in heavy traffic where the system got a little confused about the path while other cars were veering to line up for a turn.
But here’s the key takeaway: they’re moving fast. The confidence and lack of "twitchiness" for a first public showing make me a believer. We should see this feature rolling out as part of the paid Autonomy Plus suite in the coming year.
3. The R2 Hardware Revolution: LiDAR and In-House Silicon
The R2 Autonomy Computer is getting a total hardware overhaul, and they’re coming out swinging. The sheer ambition here is what makes it so cool.
* Custom Silicon: Rivian built its own chip. Seriously. The new **Rivian Autonomy Processor 1 (RAP1)** is a custom System-on-a-Chip (SoC) designed specifically for their AI and autonomy workloads, manufactured on TSMC’s 5nm process (the same TSMC that builds Apple’s chips). This dedicated processing power is what enables the next generation of AI driving.
* Integrated LiDAR:The R2 will be equipped with LiDAR sensors. Rivian managed to integrate them so smoothly you’d barely notice they’re there—a massive design feat. This is a game-changer for high-level autonomy (Eyes-Off, Hands-Off driving) and those tricky "edge cases" like heavy rain or low light where cameras alone struggle.
* Goodbye Sonar: The old parking sonar sensors are being replaced by dual-mode radars on each corner. This is likely a simplification and cost-cutting measure, but radar I suspect it will likely function very much the same for the end user
These hardware upgrades pave the way for exciting long-term features like Personal Level 4 autonomy, where you can send the car to run an errand, like picking up the kids from school, entirely on its own.
4. Autonomy Plus Pricing: A Total Undercut
Rivian laid down the gauntlet on pricing for their advanced features, packaging it all under the new name, Autonomy +
Outright Purchase: $2,500
Subscription: $50 per month
Launching in early 2026, this is a massive undercut to competitors, proving Rivian is serious about getting the technology into owners’ hands. Plus, they finally simplified the naming scheme from the old "Rivian Autonomy Platform +" to just "Autonomy +." Thank you, Rivian, for saving us all a few syllables!
5. Rivian Assistant: The AI in the Dashboard
The final major reveal was the new Rivian Assistant. This isn't just a profain chatbot. This AI is deeply contextual and built on a sophisticated, multi-model platform.
The assistant can handle things like:
*Vehicle Context:"I'm low on charge, find the nearest DC fast charger and a coffee shop nearby."
*Personal Context: It can link to your calendar, understand text messages, and even reschedule appointments.
*Hybrid PowerThe system uses a mix of Rivian-made models running locally on the vehicle (for instant commands like "Set the temperature to 73°") and cloud-based models (for more complex or conversational requests like "It's too hot in here, can you do something?").
It sounded like Google's Gemini and (possibly) OpenAI's GPT are both available back end agents for those cloud requests. But an important distiction to make here: Rivian Assistant ≠ Gemini as we know it on smart phones and online. Rather, this is Rivian leveraging the Gemini API to process requests. We'll get more details as we get closer to launch, but it seems as if users likely won't have to log in with Google in order to use Rivian Assistant. They just help fulfill some of the requests on the back end. That said, direct integrations with you calendar (and possibly gmail in the future) WOULD require a Google login.
The future R2, with its 100 TOPS of dedicated AI processing power, will be able to handle most of these queries on the device, meaning faster responses and less reliance on a cell signal.
The Bottom Line
Rivian Autonomy Day wasn't just a teaser; it was proof that they are serious about fulfilling on autonomy. They showed that they've been building a comprehensive, vertically integrated system from the custom chips all the way up to the AI assistant.
I’ll be pushing the new Universal Hands-Free system to its limits as soon as it drops later this month, so make sure you’re following for the full review! The future of driving just got a whole lot more interesting.
Keep an eye out! The deep dive videos on what I learned about R2 hardware and the Point-to-Point system from the engineers are coming next.)
As always - the YouTube version has more details and visuals (which is important to for the stuff I'm talking about here)
Check it out on Thunder Volt Auto:
Seriously, the engineers were so passionate and excited, and it was so cool to chat with them about what they've been working on behind closed doors for a long while! Also big shoutout to them for bringing me out there, it was incredible to meet and talk with all of these good (and incredibly smart) folks
There’s a ton to unpack, from an end to the highway geo-fence to Rivian’s answer to Tesla’s FSD.
1. The Geo-Fence is Officially De-Fenced
For anyone who owns a current R1, this is a big one, and it's coming in the next week or two.
Universal Hands-Free (UHF), and it's a massive shift. UHF is designed to work on any road that has reasonably marked lanes—which translates to over 3.5 million miles of roads in the U.S. and Canada. You can bet your bottom dollar I will be testing this up and down when 2025.46 comes out. Roads with faded lines, roads with only a center line, and even completely unmarked roads where my R1 hallucinates lane lines that don't exist.
One catch with this one: you’re still required to manage things like traffic lights and stop signs for now. While the system *is* capable of recognizing them (we saw a point-to-point demo doing exactly that), it's not consistent enough yet to push it live to us.
2. Point-to-Point Driving: Rivian’s FSD Challenger
The second huge announcement was the preview of their Point-to-Point Driving system. This is Rivian’s direct answer to the full-stack self-driving systems we've seen elsewhere.
I got a demo ride near their office, and while it’s still rough around the edges (it’s an early engineering build, after all) it was felt smooth and confident.
The drive was *mostly* excellent, but, we had two disengagements: once when the system attempted to sail right through a red stoplight , and another time in heavy traffic where the system got a little confused about the path while other cars were veering to line up for a turn.
But here’s the key takeaway: they’re moving fast. The confidence and lack of "twitchiness" for a first public showing make me a believer. We should see this feature rolling out as part of the paid Autonomy Plus suite in the coming year.
3. The R2 Hardware Revolution: LiDAR and In-House Silicon
The R2 Autonomy Computer is getting a total hardware overhaul, and they’re coming out swinging. The sheer ambition here is what makes it so cool.
* Custom Silicon: Rivian built its own chip. Seriously. The new **Rivian Autonomy Processor 1 (RAP1)** is a custom System-on-a-Chip (SoC) designed specifically for their AI and autonomy workloads, manufactured on TSMC’s 5nm process (the same TSMC that builds Apple’s chips). This dedicated processing power is what enables the next generation of AI driving.
* Integrated LiDAR:The R2 will be equipped with LiDAR sensors. Rivian managed to integrate them so smoothly you’d barely notice they’re there—a massive design feat. This is a game-changer for high-level autonomy (Eyes-Off, Hands-Off driving) and those tricky "edge cases" like heavy rain or low light where cameras alone struggle.
* Goodbye Sonar: The old parking sonar sensors are being replaced by dual-mode radars on each corner. This is likely a simplification and cost-cutting measure, but radar I suspect it will likely function very much the same for the end user
These hardware upgrades pave the way for exciting long-term features like Personal Level 4 autonomy, where you can send the car to run an errand, like picking up the kids from school, entirely on its own.
4. Autonomy Plus Pricing: A Total Undercut
Rivian laid down the gauntlet on pricing for their advanced features, packaging it all under the new name, Autonomy +
Outright Purchase: $2,500
Subscription: $50 per month
Launching in early 2026, this is a massive undercut to competitors, proving Rivian is serious about getting the technology into owners’ hands. Plus, they finally simplified the naming scheme from the old "Rivian Autonomy Platform +" to just "Autonomy +." Thank you, Rivian, for saving us all a few syllables!
5. Rivian Assistant: The AI in the Dashboard
The final major reveal was the new Rivian Assistant. This isn't just a profain chatbot. This AI is deeply contextual and built on a sophisticated, multi-model platform.
The assistant can handle things like:
*Vehicle Context:"I'm low on charge, find the nearest DC fast charger and a coffee shop nearby."
*Personal Context: It can link to your calendar, understand text messages, and even reschedule appointments.
*Hybrid PowerThe system uses a mix of Rivian-made models running locally on the vehicle (for instant commands like "Set the temperature to 73°") and cloud-based models (for more complex or conversational requests like "It's too hot in here, can you do something?").
It sounded like Google's Gemini and (possibly) OpenAI's GPT are both available back end agents for those cloud requests. But an important distiction to make here: Rivian Assistant ≠ Gemini as we know it on smart phones and online. Rather, this is Rivian leveraging the Gemini API to process requests. We'll get more details as we get closer to launch, but it seems as if users likely won't have to log in with Google in order to use Rivian Assistant. They just help fulfill some of the requests on the back end. That said, direct integrations with you calendar (and possibly gmail in the future) WOULD require a Google login.
The future R2, with its 100 TOPS of dedicated AI processing power, will be able to handle most of these queries on the device, meaning faster responses and less reliance on a cell signal.
The Bottom Line
Rivian Autonomy Day wasn't just a teaser; it was proof that they are serious about fulfilling on autonomy. They showed that they've been building a comprehensive, vertically integrated system from the custom chips all the way up to the AI assistant.
I’ll be pushing the new Universal Hands-Free system to its limits as soon as it drops later this month, so make sure you’re following for the full review! The future of driving just got a whole lot more interesting.
Keep an eye out! The deep dive videos on what I learned about R2 hardware and the Point-to-Point system from the engineers are coming next.)
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