Rivian sets new delivery record

Rivian, an American manufacturer known for its pickup trucks and SUVs designed for adventure, delivered 19,248 vehicles in the third quarter, a record and about 46% more than a year earlier. The company also launched the R2, a more compact and affordable car in June.

Rivian CEO envisions autonomous future

RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO of Rivian, spoke recently at the TechCrunch Disrupt, a major American conference dedicated to new technologies, stating that autonomous driving could lead to "radically different experiences" in vehicle design. Scaringe expressed "fiercely enthusiastic" expectations for the next ten years in the industry, even considering delaying Rivian's profitability to achieve these changes.

Autonomous design could break traditional rules

Scaringe argued that if cars no longer need to be driven, designers would not have to follow current automobile codes, "we can imagine the formats we want to build for an autonomous vehicle," he said. He directly opposed Tesla's vision of a world where people might leave their cars in the garage to call a robotaxi, suggesting that even if cars can drive themselves on certain trips, habits may not change radically.

Autonomous vehicle concepts have long existed

The concept of radically different vehicle forms due to autonomy is not new. Ten years ago, car manufacturers and autonomous driving specialists predicted that driverless cars, combined with simpler and less bulky electric motors than internal combustion engines, would give rise to unprecedented vehicle forms. Concepts such as Mercedes' bubble-shaped cabin, Toyota's "rolling salons," and Hyundai's car with legs were proposed, but none have progressed beyond the prototype stage.

Robotaxis face ongoing challenges

Robotaxis are already in use, though they still face challenges. Rivian's autonomous driving system currently allows the driver to let go of the wheel, provided they continue to monitor the road. By the end of the year, it must be able to drive a car from a starting point to a destination without intervention, always under the driver's control. True autonomy, including a robotaxi version of the R2, is expected to arrive in 2028.