Rivian Opens Invite-Only Access to Self-Driving Features
Rivian will open its Autonomy Early Access Program to a limited group of owners in December, giving selected participants pre-release access to Point to Point, a supervised Level 2 driver assistance system that combines hands-free driving with turn-by-turn navigation, the company announced.
The invite-only program targets Gen 2 R1 and R2 owners based in California and Florida with active paid Autonomy+ subscriptions. Trials do not count toward eligibility. Owners can enroll through their Rivian.com account, where a qualifying vehicle surfaces an Autonomy Early Access tile on the primary owner's profile.
According to Rivian, selection depends on how frequently an owner engages Autonomy features and whether they maintain a clean recent safety record covering metrics such as forward collision warnings. The company weighs the pool across regions and vehicle models. Owners who are not chosen will not receive a rejection email, and their interest stays on record as the program reaches additional states, making reapplication unnecessary.
Participation carries obligations. Testers must engage the features on a weekly basis, log issues through the vehicle interface, and submit a monthly survey. They must also share location and camera data under an NDA. There is no compensation. Rivian reassesses eligibility on a 30-day cycle and can drop any participant without notice.
Point to Point ties Universal Hands-Free to navigation, letting the vehicle follow a navigation route through supervised turns, highway merges, and surface-street driving. The system relies on a 360-degree sensor suite and Rivian's Large Driving Model. Drivers must stay attentive throughout.
The timing lines up a statement made by James Philbin, SVP, Autonomy & AI at Rivian when he said that the company was tracking toward a year-end launch. A broad rollout reaching all Autonomy+ subscribers remains targeted for 2027, according to Rivian.
Because testers are bound by an NDA, early participants will not be discussing the system publicly. Rivian's Autonomy & AI Day on December 9 is set to offer a public look at the technology ahead of the wider release.
