Rivian Owners Can Now Use Comma.ai, But at Their Own Risk

Comma.ai just made things a lot more interesting for Rivian owners by adding support for the R1T and R1S with their open-source driver assistance system, openpilot. If you’re the type who likes pushing your truck’s tech to the next level, this might be right up your alley.

For those who don’t know, Comma.ai makes a device called the comma 3X, which adds some serious smarts to your car’s driver assistance features. We’re talking lane centering, adaptive cruise control, and a smoother, more capable highway driving experience. And now, thanks to a new Rivian harness, you can hook it up to your Gen 1 R1T or R1S. The harness costs $99, while the comma 3X itself is $999, so it’s not exactly cheap—but for Rivian owners who want more from their driver-assist system, it could be worth it.

Some Rivian owners have already installed it, and from early reports, it’s working pretty well. Quinn from SnazzyLabs even did a test drive and shared his thoughts, showing how well openpilot handles on the highway. You can check out his demo here:

From the looks of it, openpilot does a great job keeping the truck centered and handling the road—and it might be a solid alternative for Rivian owners who want better driver assistance right now.

Here’s where things get interesting. Rivian is rolling out its own hands-free highway driving system in the next few weeks—but only for Gen 2 R1T and R1S models. If you’ve got one of those, you might not even need the Comma.ai setup.

Rivian’s official system will let you go hands-free on certain highways, similar to Ford’s BlueCruise or GM’s Super Cruise. And since it’s built into the truck’s software, it’ll probably work seamlessly with Rivian’s existing driver-assist features.

But if you have a Gen 1 Rivian, you’re out of luck—Rivian’s hands-free driving won’t be coming to older models. So if you want something better than Rivian’s standard driver-assist, the comma 3X might be your best bet.

One big thing to keep in mind: Rivian hasn’t officially endorsed Comma.ai or openpilot. This is a third-party system that taps into the truck’s hardware, and while some owners are having great experiences with it, it’s not something Rivian is promoting or supporting.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unsafe, but it does mean if something goes wrong, Rivian won’t be responsible. It’s still early days for Comma.ai on Rivian, so we’ll be keeping an eye on how this plays out—whether Rivian takes a stance against it or if more owners jump on board and prove it’s a solid upgrade.

So, what’s the move? Are you sticking with Rivian’s built-in system, waiting for their hands-free update, or jumping on the Comma.ai train to get better driver assistance today?