Rivian’s founder and Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe discussed the company’s timeline for autonomous driving deployment, humanoid robots, and the upcoming R2 launch in a new interview on the Access podcast.
While seeing robots being able to manage all human-handled tasks still “in his lifetime,” the chief executive says autonomy will represent a choice, rather than completely substitute humans.
According to Scaringe, “in the foreseeable future, call it in the next decade, maybe even two decades, I think we’ll have autonomy represent a choice. So, customers will decide, ‘do I want to drive my car or do I want the car to drive me?”
Highlighting that only 1% of the 10 trillion miles travelled in the US represent rideshare or rental rides, Rivian‘s CEO said that — even with the deployment of Robotaxis — car ownership is not going to “fall off that dramatically.”
His view aligns with those of Rivian Board Member (and ex-Waymo CEO) John Krafcik, who said earlier this month that “the idea that we’ll have personal robotaxis in our driveway in two years is silly.”
“What we think will likely happen is we’ll see robotaxi be a big, very interesting business,” he said, adding that Personal Level 4 is likely to become true.
However, “if you need basic mobility, ride share on an autonomous Robotaxi is going to likely very, very cheap.”
To Scaringe, “it will become the new entry [level] vehicle.”
“Rather than own a car as an entry car, you say, ‘I’m going to use a ride share service that has a variable cost that’s low, you know, 50 cents a mile,’ something like that,” he added.
LiDAR and Vision-Only
Last month, the Irvine-based EV maker unveiled several upgrades to its Autonomy Platform.
These improvements will allow Rivian vehicles to achieve self-driving capabilities — first with hands-free driving and, eventually, progressing to eyes-off.
Rivian also announced that its “large driving model,” which underpins its autonomous driving technology, will now integrate LiDAR sensors.
LiDAR in autonomous vehicles has sparked debate in the auto industry, particularly because Tesla has rejected it in favor of a camera-only vision system.
Whatever the approach, Scaringe emphasized that both companies are developing driving models trained on the observation of “many, many, many billions and billions of driven miles.”
“Anybody who’s serious about self-driving is now building these end-to-end foundation model-based approaches,” he added.
Tesla Rivalry
The hosts of the Access podcast also questioned Scaringe about his views on design, especially compared to rival Tesla.
To the CEO, a design language “that’s more calming or more approachable” is more consistent with Rivian‘s positioning as a brand.
“I think culturally and from a societal point of view, a lot of people are drawn to that. Something that feels timeless, it’s not too aggressive, it’s not trying too hard,” he stated.
On the other hand, Scaringe noted that “if you go like very dystopian, it sends a signal about maybe how you see yourself or how you see the world.”
Contrary to popular belief, Rivian does offer a black option for its SUV configurations, although it is not a frequently selected choice.
Despite Scaringe’s “best efforts” to discontinue the color, as it “has a certain tonality that’s inconsistent with how we want to feel as a brand,” there are “enough people that want a black SUV.”
However, Scaringe admitted that, when he agreed to do a black color, it had to be “with some sole. “If you look up close, it’s got like a beautiful bluish-purplish flake in it.”
When host Ellis Hamburger noted that, in juxtaposition, Tesla is “very leaning into the Blade Runner stuff,” Scaringe stated that “it’s a good thing there’s brand diversity.”
“The Tesla brand and the Rivian brand are so different, and manifest so differently across every aspect,” the CEO commented, adding that it happens “whether it’s our retail locations, the events we run, the way our products look, design choices we make.”
According to him, “it’s good because some customers are going to want that look, some customers want our look, and the world needs to have some choice.”
Upcoming R2
Production of Rivian’s upcoming R2 SUV is set to start soon, as the company targets both manufacturing and deliveries to begin in the first half of the year.
The entry-level trim will be priced at $45,000; however, the EV maker is expected to begin production with a higher-end version.
A prototype spotted near Rivian‘s factory on December 23 had suggested trial production was underway; then, last week, the first validation vehicles rolled off the line.
Scaringe posted images showing the company’s upcoming R2 SUV charging at a Rivian station ahead of the road trip across Route 66 — part of a cross-country promotional trip along the historic American highway.
According to Scaringe, the mid-size SUV is expected to create a major boost in demand for the company — similar to what Tesla’s Model 3 did for its sales.
“The price point of it […] will generate a scale of demand that’s much different than what we have with R1,” he noted.
Calling it the “closest comparison,” the CEO stated that “Tesla prior to Model 3 was not a very high volume company,” and it wasn’t until the launch of the sedan that “business really started to thrive in terms of cash flow.”
For Rivian, Scaringe said, “that’s R2 and then subsequently R3, which really drive this significant volume and also help rationalize all these really large fixed cost investments we’ve made.”
By the third quarter of 2025, the company had cumulatively burned through over $20 billion in cash, raising concerns among analysts about whether the R2 can be the catalyst the company needs to achieve profitability.
