Rivian Stock Drops After AI Day as Investors Eye Long Road to Autonomy

Rivian stock slid Thursday after the EV maker’s first-ever Autonomy and AI Day revealed ambitious long-term technology plans but few near-term catalysts, leaving investors unimpressed despite new in-house chips, a Level 4 roadmap, and a lower-priced driver-assistance subscription.

Shares fell as much as 10% during the event before recovering slightly, still ending the session down sharply as markets appeared to “sell the news.”

Custom silicon and autonomy roadmap fail to spark rally

At its Palo Alto event, Rivian confirmed it has developed its own autonomy processor, dubbed RAP1, marking a major step toward vertical integration. The 5nm chip anchors the company’s upcoming Gen 3 autonomy platform, delivering 1,600 sparse INT8 TOPS and the ability to process roughly 5 billion pixels per second. Future R2 vehicles, launching in the first half of 2026, will combine the chip with cameras, advanced radar, and front-facing long-range LiDAR.

Rivian also outlined a gradual autonomy roadmap that targets point-to-point driving in 2026, with fully autonomous, eyes-off capability positioned as a later milestone rather than an immediate goal. An over-the-air update arriving in the coming weeks will expand hands-free driving for current R1 customers, unlocking access across more than 3.5 million miles of roads in North America. While the technology showcase was extensive, investors appeared to want firmer timelines for near-term autonomy gains, contributing to the stock’s pullback, according to Yahoo Finance.

Autonomy+ pricing, AI strategy, and investor expectations

Rivian announced its Autonomy+ driver-assistance subscription will launch in early 2026, priced at $2,500 upfront or $49.99 per month—significantly undercutting Tesla’s Full Self-Driving pricing. The software will remain free until March 2026 and includes “Universal Hands-Free” capability across most marked roads in the U.S. and Canada.

Executives also detailed Rivian’s broader AI approach, including a Large Driving Model that learns continuously from fleet data and a new Rivian Assistant voice platform designed to run fully offline in future vehicles. Despite the depth of the presentation, Rivian shares responded with their biggest decline in nearly a year. Analysts noted the stock had already climbed more than 30% year-to-date ahead of the event, and at least one major bank recently downgraded the shares, citing capital intensity and execution risk. For now, Wall Street appears to be waiting for clearer revenue impact and execution milestones.

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