Rivian is opening up early testing of its next-generation driver assistance features. The new Autonomy Early Access Program is an invite-only beta that puts new Autonomy features “into the hands of real owners, in real driving conditions, before they ever reach a general release.”
First up is Point to Point, which connects Rivian’s Universal Hands-Free system to navigation so the vehicle can autonomously follow your exact route through turns, highway transitions, and city streets. Early access participants are set to get it in December, starting in California and Florida.
Who Can Join Rivian’s Early Access Program
The program is open to U.S. owners of Gen 2 R1 and R2 vehicles with an active Autonomy+ subscription. Trials don’t count, and Gen 1 vehicles and Canadian owners are excluded.
Eligible owners will see an Autonomy Early Access tile on their Rivian.com account page, but only on the primary owner’s account. Invitations are going out on a rolling basis starting October 15. Rivian is picking participants based on how often they use Autonomy features and whether they have a clean recent safety record, which accounts for things like forward collision warnings and actual collisions. It also balances the group by region and vehicle model.
Owners in any state can sign up, but selection will start in a few states and expand before the nationwide release in 2027. If you aren’t picked, your application stays on file, so there’s no need to reapply.
What Participants Have to Do
Early access comes with some homework. Participants have to use the preview features every week, log issues in the vehicle, complete monthly surveys, and share location and camera data. Everything is covered by an NDA, and as Rivian’s support page puts it, “No, participants will not get paid.”
Rivian rechecks eligibility every 30 days and can remove participants at its discretion at any time, including if they cancel Autonomy+.
Rivian’s Answer to Tesla FSD
Point to Point is Rivian’s take on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which had the “beta” label until March 2024 and can drive your selected route to a destination while you stay hands-off but attentive. With Rivian already positioning the R2 as a direct competitor to the Model Y, autonomy software is its next battleground with Tesla.
The timing matches what James Philbin, Rivian’s SVP of Autonomy and AI, said during a Reddit AMA earlier this year: “Later this year we will start the rollout of point-to-point driving to R2 and R1 Gen2 vehicles.”
It also follows the autonomy roadmap previously laid out by CEO RJ Scaringe. After an eyes-on, hands-off Point to Point experience, Rivian plans to start rolling out Level 3 capabilities next year, beginning with highway driving, where drivers can legally take their eyes off the road. Autonomy is also a key part of Rivian’s push toward profitability, alongside the R2.
Point to Point is set to reach every Autonomy+ subscriber with a Gen 2 R1 or R2 in 2027. Since early testers will be under NDA, we may not hear much about how it performs until then.
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