I emailed Rivian this week asking what it could share on Autonomy+ and Universal Hands-Free 2.0. The reply was one line. “We don’t have anything to share right now.” Companies say that all the time.
Back in June, James Philbin, Rivian’s VP of Autonomy and AI, at the R2 First Drive in Park City provided me with an update on Autonomy+. The list was stop light and stop sign response, automatic lane changes on surface streets, Auto Park, and On-Ramp to Off-Ramp. Lane changes showed up in 2026.23. Nothing else has, which is why I wrote earlier this week that Universal Hands-Free 2.0 has three weeks left in Q3. 2026.31 came out September 4 with zero autonomy changes.
Rivian’s own Autonomy+ roadmap from August 14 doesn’t mention 2.0 at all. Its What Comes Next section goes from Universal Hands-Free directly to Point to Point. The footnote still says Universal Hands-Free won’t slow or stop for traffic lights or stop signs, even after Rivian updated the page on September 1.
Auto Parking is still on the Autonomy+ product page, listed as coming in 2026. That is a lot roomier than third quarter.
At Goldman Sachs Communacopia this week, Philbin and the Rivian team held every date already on the record. Point to Point is still late this year. Nobody brought up 2.0.
I don’t know which way this goes. My guess is Rivian folded most of 2.0 into Point to Point. The fine print on Point to Point covers turns, lane changes, and intersection maneuvers, which means it has to stop at red lights. Deciding to stop for a light is the hard part of 2.0. Point to Point needs the exact same thing. Validating it twice would be a strange use of a team that is also pushing RivianOS 2.0 to every R1 on the road.
Auto Park doesn’t fit that theory. Parking has nothing to do with following a route. If it misses the quarter too, I’d take that as a sign everyone is working on Point to Point.
The people this hits are the ones paying $49.99 a month and the ones who put down $2,500. 2.0 was supposed to be the thing that changed the drive this fall. If it now rides with Point to Point, which starts as a limited rollout this year with most owners waiting on 2027, a lot of us are looking at next year.
I’ll be watching the next software update to see if any Autonomy updates appear. If we see nothing, I guess we might just have to wait for Rivian’s AI & Autonomy Day happening later this year or point to point release.
I appreciate you keeping us updated on this topic
Thanks for keeping us in the loop.
I notice my R1S sees various signs such as yield signs and marks them as stop signs in the display. Is there any way currently to report this to Rivian when it happens? I tried the feedback button but that seems to just be related to map issues.
It is likely that the timing and capability of the next autonomy software update will affect the stock price and it sounds like they are not publicizing this info.
Happy to be another early Beta Tester for RIVIANs Point to Point 🙂
Haha. A paying beta tester too!
Well my hands free features on my 26 R1S doesn’t work at all. Their service has been very disappointing. No remote diagnostics available. I have to drive 3.5 hours to a service center to evaluate.
That response is better than what Elon would have told you at this point in Tesla’s evolution. He’d have promised you’d be able to go New York to LA while you had high tea service in the back seat by January.
Rivian owners should ignore their irrational exuberence just like we Tesla owners ignored Elons. You are right, Elon said end of the year, every year since 2016. It took them until the end of last year to really deliver. I’ve had FSD since 2019. Back then it was terrifying but it gradually got better and the starting three years ago there was rapid progress. Now it’s phenomenal.
Self driving is a really hard problem and it can’t be accomplished overnight. It’s a years long slog. When RJ channeled Elon and said they would have it my the end of the year that was nonsense. It’s going to take them several years at least.
I hope they keep to it! Just paid the $2,500 last month. They haven’t missed major milestones yet so hopefully it’s still coming Q3.
Just completed a 4.5hr drive with my new R1S, traded in my old one. Autonomy+ was fantastic! Even went thru the mountains and handled every sharp curve on its own. My only gripe is it would be a nice step to have auto-lane changes by now. That would be a game changer and almost as good as On Ramp to Off Ramp. Been very pleased with the progression Rivian has done so far, but hope they can keep their promise on delivering just a bit more before EOY.
Thanks for staying on it Jose, IMO their iteration pace is way too slow to meet any of their timelines. I’m actually shocked that they don’t have autonomy on a separate branch like other car companies so that updates can push faster. In the modern era of AI and continuous release Cycles they are moving slow for a software company.