-
Rivian CEO says that by 2030, self-driving features will be as common as airbags.
-
RJ Scaringe says it will be “unthinkable” for cars not to be autonomous by the end of the decade.
-
On Thursday, Rivian reported 8% sales growth in 2025 compared with 2024.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe says self-driving capabilities will become a “must-have” feature in cars in the “near future.”
Scaringe discussed how self-driving cars will become the norm by the end of the century in an interview with the “No Priors” podcast released Thursday.
“I think by 2030 it will be unthinkable to buy a car and not expect it to be able to drive itself,” Scaringe said. “Maybe that will be sooner. We hope it will be sooner, our goal is a little sooner than that.”
Today, he added, it’s hard to imagine buying a car without airbags or air conditioning, “which at some point will all be optional.”
“I think in the near future, within a few years, it will be hard to imagine buying a car that can’t take you to the airport or pick up your kids from school,” Scarinch said.
Scarinch has previously said that in addition to being able to drive themselves, self-driving cars should be developed to the point where they can perform tasks such as getting goods from a store or ordering spare car parts.
Rivian is one of a handful of U.S. automakers moving into self-driving cars, along with Tesla, Alphabet’s Waymo and Ford. They face stiff competition outside the United States, where Chinese rivals such as BYD, Xpeng Motors and Baidu have gained market share.
Rivian, based in Irvine, California, expects to begin deliveries of the R2 SUV later this year. This model is the cheapest electric car to date, priced at $45,000.
Rivian released its financial report on Thursday, reporting full-year revenue of $5.39 billion in 2025, an 8% increase from 2024. The company said in its financial report that it had delivered 42,247 vehicles to customers in 2025.
The company’s stock price fell 5% after the earnings report was released, but rose about 15% in after-hours trading. It grew by about 12% last year.
Read the original article on Business Insider