Rivian‘s Autonomy+ driver-assistance suite is now a paid service, ending a free trial period that the company extended three times since December.
The software is available as a $49.99 monthly subscription or a one-time purchase of $2,500 in the United States, and C$69.99 per month or C$3,500 in Canada.
All new R1S and R1T deliveries include a 60-day trial of the system, which also applies to new R2 deliveries — set to begin in the following months.
The autonomy features are only available for second-generation R1 vehicles, with Gen 1 units having the more limited Driver+ assisted driving.
According to the fine print on Rivian‘s website, the one-time purchase option covers the lifetime of feature support for the hardware installed at delivery and transfers with the vehicle upon a change of ownership — as it is linked to the vehicle’s VIN, not the owner.
Universal Hands-Free
Rivian‘s autonomy software currently offers ‘Universal Hands-Free,’ ‘Highway Assist,’ ‘Adaptive Cruise Control’ and ‘Lane Change on Command’ features.
Lane Change on Command performs lane changes on divided highways when the driver activates the turn signal.
Universal Hands-Free allows drivers to operate hands-free on roads with painted or dotted lane markings, though the system will not stop or slow down for traffic lights or stop signs.
The feature rolled out in a major autonomy-focused software update late last year — which included the expansion of the Autonomy platform coverage by 24 times to 3.5 million miles of marked roads.
Upon releasing the hands-free driving software in December, Rivian said the feature could be used both on and off highways, “if the lane lines are clearly marked.”
Earlier this year, Rivian warned owners upon the release that the hands-free assisted driving function “will not stop or slow down for traffic lights or stop signs,” urging them to review the Owner’s Guide for additional details on the feature.
Two additional features are expected later this year, according to the company’s website.
Auto Parking will handle both parallel and perpendicular parking maneuvers, while On-Ramp to Off-Ramp will allow the vehicle to follow a set route on the highway, navigating interchanges autonomously until the driver’s exit.
Introduction to Autonomy+
Rivian initially extended the free trial of Autonomy+ for its Gen 2 customers from “early 2025 to “late 2025,” but as the end of the year approached, the terms were updated.
All new vehicle deliveries included a 60-day trial of Autonomy+ up until February.
Earlier this year, the company again delayed the timeline for the paid service “through April 4.”
The subscription-or-purchase options for driver-assistance suites were first introduced by Tesla, with its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software.
The company also offered a free transfer program for FSD for customers who purchased the software and switched to a newer vehicle, which ended on March 31.
In mid-February, Tesla stopped offering the service with a purchase option, only allowing customers to subscribe to FSD.
The two EV makers take different approaches to self-driving technology: Tesla relies primarily on camera-based vision, while Rivian uses a neural network approach, with confirmed plans to include LiDAR in future models.
The upcoming R2 SUV, which will launch with the current hardware used on Gen 2 R1 vehicles, is expected to ship with LiDAR hardware later in the year, as will Gen 3 builds of its debut models.
Rivian has recently denied that Chinese LiDAR maker RoboSense is the supplier for its upcoming R2 autonomous driving system, EV learned.
The denial came two months after circumstantial evidence that had pointed to a supplier relationship between the two companies.
Rivian x Tesla
Rivian‘s Autonomy platform is currently on SAE’s Level 2 of automation, where the driver is fully responsible for driving the vehicle while it provides assistance.
With the upcoming features, the company aims to reach Level 3, where the system handles all aspects of driving and the driver remains available to take over.
Level 4 autonomy is also in the plans, as the EV maker unveiled its custom 5nm processor and transition to in-house silicon.
Rivian’s driver-assistance software currently falls between Tesla’s Autopilot (L1) and the more advanced Full-Self Driving (Supervised), which is gradually moving toward Level 3 autonomy.
Autonomy in 2026
Rivian‘s founder and Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe said last year that point-to-point driving would be available for Gen 2 vehicles this year.
He confirmed the ambitions in the ‘Autonomy & AI Day’ event held on December 11, while revealing that eyes-off will be the next step.
During last year’s autonomy event, Scaringe said the system would eventually target Level 4 autonomy — fully driverless operation without a safety operator — but did not commit to a specific timeline.
Late last month, Rivian disclosed a partnership with Uber that puts a clearer date on that goal.
Under the agreement, Uber will invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian through 2031, and the two companies plan to deploy up to 50,000 fully autonomous robotaxis across 25 cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Commercial deployment of unsupervised robotaxis is scheduled to begin in 2028.
The partnership is built around the EV maker’s third-generation autonomy platform.
Uber‘s investment is contingent on Rivian hitting autonomous performance milestones by specific dates, though neither company has disclosed what those benchmarks are.
For Rivian, the deal provides a significant new source of capital and guaranteed vehicle demand at a critical moment.
The company is about to start production of R2 at its Normal, Illinois plant, with customer deliveries expected to begin by the end of spring.
Rivian has guided for between 62,000 and 67,000 total vehicle deliveries in 2026, of which the R2 is expected to account for about 20,000 to 25,000 units.
