Rivian Is Taking on Tesla with Hands-Free Driving in 2025, Eyes-Off Tech in 2026
Big news for Rivian fans! RivianTrackr reached out to confirm this story with Rivian, and the company has verified the details. While celebrating the opening of the new Rivian Space in San Francisco, CEO RJ Scaringe announced some exciting plans for the company’s future. Rivian is working on rolling out a hands-free Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) in 2025, followed by an “eyes-off” system in 2026. Yep, they’re diving into the self-driving game—and aiming right at Tesla.
So, What’s the Deal with Hands-Free?
The hands-free system coming in 2025 sounds like it’ll take the stress out of long drives. Picture this: cruising in your R1T or R1S without needing to keep your hands glued to the steering wheel. You’ll still have to pay attention to the road, but it’ll make your commute or that road trip to the mountains so much easier. Think of it as an upgraded version of what Rivian already offers, like lane-keeping and adaptive cruise control, but smarter and more confident.
Now, the real buzz is around the “eyes-off” system slated for 2026. If Rivian pulls this off, you could actually stop watching the road altogether in certain conditions. Imagine letting your truck take the wheel while you catch up on emails, binge your favorite show, or just chill. It’s next-level stuff.
Will This Only Be for Gen 2 Rivians?
Here’s the big question on everyone’s mind: will these systems only work on Gen 2 Rivian vehicles? While Scaringe hasn’t confirmed anything, there’s a good chance the hardware required for “eyes-off” driving may not exist in Gen 1 R1T and R1S models.
Fully autonomous systems typically require advanced hardware like LiDAR, upgraded cameras, and radar systems that are not part of the original hardware in Gen 1 Rivians. Sure, Rivian has an incredible over-the-air (OTA) update system, but some features can’t be patched in through software alone.
Rivian vs. Tesla: The Showdown
Let’s be real—this is Rivian throwing down the gauntlet at Tesla’s feet. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) has been the gold standard (and the most controversial) in the autonomous driving world. But it’s far from perfect, and a lot of people feel like Tesla’s been rushing things. Rivian, on the other hand, seems to be taking a more careful, safety-first approach.
Here’s where Rivian could really shine: off-roading. Tesla’s FSD is all about highways and city streets, but Rivian’s vehicles are built for adventure. If Rivian can bring that hands-free or eyes-off magic to trails, rugged terrain, or remote campsites, that’s a total game-changer for outdoor enthusiasts.
What’s Next?
Of course, Rivian’s announcement leaves us with a ton of questions. How will these systems actually work? Will they use LiDAR, cameras, radar, or some fancy combination of all three? Will they roll out as software updates like Tesla does, or will they require new hardware? For now, Scaringe is keeping those details under wraps, but one thing is clear: Rivian isn’t sitting on the sidelines.
The timeline—hands-free by 2025, eyes-off by 2026—is aggressive but exciting. If Rivian can deliver, it’s going to give Tesla (and other competitors) some serious competition. Plus, for Rivian owners, it means even more reasons to love their trucks and SUVs.
It’s a bold move, but hey, when has Rivian ever played it safe?
Gen 1 vehicles don’t have an onboard GPU unlike Gen 2. Earlier articles implied that rivian was hoping to get more out of their mobileeye integration but it’s a very locked down ecosystem. From what I understand they are in a data collection phase with gen 2 vehicles to eventually use the onboard gpu to power their own in-house model.
* For RJ to back up his claim, he should provide some technical details – e.g. the stack that is in use working on it – what is currently being tested in a limited environment in some labs somewhere etc. without those details, this actually impacts his credibility more.
* offroad eyes-off comment – that’s precisely where eyes on and hands on is better and what majority of Rivian owners (adventure driven) want. They want to cover the “boring” roads portion with FSD-like and once they reach the start of trail/offroad, they are fresh and ready to drive. And again, end of the tiring day when off-road portion is over, get back to hands-free to reach home.
I guess Rivian has been taking the safety-first approach when it comes to implementing a basic texting function?
“Rivian, on the other hand, seems to be taking a more careful, safety-first approach.”
Man I really do hope we see that feature come in 2025.
I’m sorry but the author of this article lost all credibility with that comment about using self-driving off-road. That is a ridiculous idea, extremely difficult and expensive to implement and I suspect no “outdoor enthusiast”on the planet would care in the least to use. But other than that it’s a fantastic idea, lol
Hey, it was just a crazy idea 😉
I think the “Taking on Tesla” was unnecessary. In addition to my Gen2 R1S, I have a Chevy Bolt with SuperCruise and a friend of mine has an F150 with BlueCruise. They are both 100% hands-free, while Tesla is still “supervised” and requires intermittent wheel touches. I’ve had SuperCruise for nearly five years. It was pretty rough in the beginning, but it is amazingly stable and reliable now. The regular car OEMs followed their “safety first” approach, so it has taken a while.
The ADAS ecosystem is way more than Tesla. In some areas Tesla is ahead, in other areas Tesla is behind (eg Mercedes is the only certified L3). Rivian is aiming to be an ADAS leader across the whole ecosystem. More power to them.