Rivian unveils new self-driving chip, takes on Tesla
Rivian just revealed its own self-driving chip, RAP1, and a software package called Autonomy+.
Both were announced at the company's AI & Autonomy Day on December 11.
RAP1 will be introduced to Rivian's next-gen R2 vehicles later in the program, not at the start of production in early 2026.
Investors seemed excited—Rivian's stock jumped 18% after the news.
RAP1: Power-packed performance
RAP1 is built on advanced 5nm tech by TSMC and delivers a huge leap in processing—up to four times faster than current NVIDIA chips.
It handles five billion pixels per second and supports cameras, radar, LiDAR sensors, plus a Large Driving Model trained on real driving data.
Autonomy+: Cheaper than Tesla's self-driving
Autonomy+ costs $2,500 upfront or $49.99/month—a bargain compared to Tesla's Full Self-Driving at $8,000 or $99/month.
The service will launch across 3.5 million miles in the US and Canada from 2026, with plans for even more advanced "eyes-off" driving down the road.
How Rivian stands out from Tesla
Like Tesla, Rivian is ditching NVIDIA chips for its own design—but unlike Tesla, it includes LiDAR sensors for better accuracy and potentially lower costs per vehicle.
After this move, analysts raised their price target for Rivian by 64%, calling its software-first approach a major edge in the EV race.