Rivian CEO Says Autonomy Could Change Vehicle Design, Names R4

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said autonomous driving could open new design possibilities for personally owned vehicles and named R4 as the model that will follow R3, without disclosing its design, role or timing.

At an Oct. 13 event in San Francisco, Scaringe said autonomy could create “dramatically different experiences.” He did not say R4 would be autonomous or connect it to the design vision he described.

Scaringe estimated that personally owned vehicles account for 95% of U.S. driving miles. He said he thought that share could drop to 90% or 80% with Level 4 autonomy.

Rivian’s autonomy targets span several stages: an initial point-to-point driving launch in late 2026, eyes-off driving in 2027 and Level 4 robotaxis in 2028. The target dates may change.

Its current Universal Hands-Free feature works on more than 3.5 million miles of roads in the United States and Canada. Drivers can take their hands off the wheel, but must keep their attention on the road and remain in control. The feature is hands-off, eyes-on driving, distinct from the company’s later eyes-off and robotaxi targets.

Rivian’s announced robotaxi partnership with Uber centers on R2, not R4. The plan calls for an initial phase of 10,000 vehicles, with deployments in San Francisco and Miami in 2028 and expansion to 25 cities by 2031, subject to milestones. They can also negotiate for up to 40,000 additional vehicles beginning in 2030.