Rivian is aggressively pushing forward to bridge the autonomy gap with Tesla, which has quickly become the primary benchmark for modern electric vehicles.

The Irvine, California-based EV manufacturer announced that its upcoming Point to Point feature will enable its vehicles to function as supervised robotaxis. This capability will seamlessly guide drivers door-to-door from their residences to local destinations and back. The rollout for Point to Point is scheduled to reach owners of R2 and Gen 2 R1 models by 2027.

Tesla FSD: The Elephant In The Room

“Our next milestone is our Point to Point feature. This means customers can enter an address and their vehicle will follow the route from start to finish, handling city streets, stoplights, highway interchanges and everything in between with driver supervision,” Rivian CEO Robert Scaringe stated on Thursday during the third quarter earnings conference call.

For those who find this reminiscent of Tesla Full Self-Driving, the strategic objective is identical. “Not only is Rivian looking to take on Tesla’s FSD software, but also targeting the brand’s Cybercab,” noted Sam Fiorani, Vice President at AutoForecast Solutions LLC. He added that technology companies like Rivian must continually push boundaries to satisfy investors.

Scaringe explained that Point to Point will initiate with an exclusive, invitation-only rollout later this year, leading up to a broader release for all Autonomy+ subscribers by 2027.

The Point to Point system relies on Rivian’s Large Driving Model (LDM), which leverages extensive driving datasets to allow neural networks to manage perception, world-modeling, and path planning end-to-end. “আমরা বর্তমানে আমাদের LDM প্রশিক্ষণের জন্য ডেটাসেট তৈরি করতে প্রতিদিন শত শত হাজার ড্রাইভিং সিকোয়েন্স ক্যাপচার করছি,” Rivian spokesperson Mike Dorsey noted, emphasizing the sheer volume of data collected daily.

California And Florida Will Get Point To Point First

California and Florida are designated as the initial launch states for Point to Point. Rivian confirmed that the feature will not be restricted to defined zones or geofencing. “The initial areas of California and Florida are not reflective of any geofence and the system should function on all public roads in the US,” Dorsey explained, drawing a parallel to Tesla's geofencing-free FSD approach. Dorsey further mentioned that expansion will target regions where customer interest runs highest, distinguishing it from the geofenced driverless taxi models operated by Waymo and Tesla's Cybercab.

The true measure of Rivian's progress in automated city driving and its ability to narrow the gap with Tesla will become clearer next year. Tesla introduced Autopilot in 2014 and FSD Beta in 2020, with current iterations operating largely as supervised robotaxis in urban landscapes. Meanwhile, Tesla’s driverless Cybercab—distinct from consumer-facing FSD vehicles—competes directly with Waymo in complex urban environments.

“He [Scaringe] is making it clear that they are concretely working on self driving probably at level three or four,” observed Jason Corso, Professor of Robotics and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, referencing standard vehicle autonomy tiers. Level 3 automates driving tasks while requiring the driver to intervene upon system failure, whereas Level 4 removes the human driver entirely. Corso remains cautious, stating, “We all want to see a real demo.”

In March 2026, Uber committed up to $1.25 billion in financing to Rivian, beginning with an initial $300 million investment. Contingent upon meeting specific autonomous-vehicle benchmarks, Uber and its associated fleets are projected to acquire 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis, with options stretching up to 40,000 additional units beginning in 2030. Service launches are targeted for San Francisco and Miami by 2028, aiming for presence across 25 metropolitan areas in the U.S., Canada, and Europe by the end of 2031.

The Other U.S. Competition

Competitors including General Motors, Ford, and Lucid currently provide hands-free highway driving aids encompassing steering, adaptive cruise control, and automated lane changes. General Motors targets eyes-off autonomy by 2028, Ford aims for supervised point-to-point by the same year, and Lucid executives project advanced autonomy introductions spanning later this year through 2027.