Rivian CEO Says R4 Will Follow R3 as Autonomy Reshapes Design

Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said the vehicle that follows the R3 will be called the R4, though the electric vehicle maker has not shown what it looks like. He made the remark at TechCrunch Disrupt, according to TechCrunch.

Scaringe said autonomy will let Rivian build form factors beyond its current SUVs and trucks, enabling what he described as radically different personally-owned autonomous vehicles.

Rivian has already shipped a driver assistance system that lets drivers take their hands off the wheel while still watching the road. The company has promised that by the end of this year the software will handle start-to-finish "point-to-point navigation" without intervention, still under driver supervision.

Robotaxi plans and R2 ramp-up

Rivian plans to deploy full autonomy in robotaxi versions of its R2 SUV, which will be available on Uber's ride-hail app. Scaringe said Rivian is at the beginning of scaling production of the R2.

Automakers and autonomous vehicle companies have previously promised that self-driving would produce many new mobility form factors, with pod-like designs and tech-packed sedans shown among the concepts. Those design ideas largely stayed in the concept and prototyping phase as autonomy took longer to develop than anticipated.