Rivian CEO Says Automobile That Cannot Drive Itself Will Be ‘Inconceivable’

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe mentioned self-driving capabilities can be a “must-have” in a automobile within the “very close to future.”

Talking on a “No Priors” podcast interview launched on Thursday, Scaringe talked about how autonomous vehicles would turn into the norm by the top of the last decade.

“I feel by 2030 it will be inconceivable to purchase a automobile and never count on it to drive itself,” Scaringe mentioned. “Possibly that is sooner. We hope it is sooner, we’re focusing on a bit of prior to that.”

He added that right now, it’s arduous to think about shopping for a automobile with out airbags or air con, which “at one second in time had been elective.”

“I feel in not an excessive amount of time, a few years, it will be arduous to conceive of shopping for a automobile that may’t drop you on the airport or decide up your children from faculty,” Scaringe mentioned.

Scaringe beforehand mentioned that, past simply with the ability to drive themselves, autonomous autos ought to progress to some extent the place they will run errands, similar to getting gadgets from the shop or ordering spare automobile elements.

Rivian is without doubt one of the handful of US-based automakers making inroads into the self-driving automobile area, together with Tesla, Alphabet’s Waymo, and Ford. They face robust competitors in markets outdoors the US, the place Chinese language opponents like BYD, XPeng, and Baidu have gained market share.

Rivian, based mostly in Irvine, California, is anticipated to start out delivering its R2 SUV later within the 12 months. This mannequin is its least expensive EV thus far, priced at $45,000.

Rivian launched earnings on Thursday, reporting a full-year 2025 income of $5.39 billion, which was an 8% improve from 2024. The corporate mentioned within the earnings report that it had delivered 42,247 autos to clients in 2025.

The corporate’s inventory worth dropped 5% after earnings however rose about 15% in after-hours buying and selling. It is up about 12% up to now 12 months.