Rivian CEO Says Autonomy Could Drive ‘Huge Changes’ in Market Share as Tesla FSD Rival Emerges

Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) CEO RJ Scaringe, during the automaker’s Q3 2026 earnings call on Thursday, said that autonomous driving efforts could potentially result in a paradigm shift in the auto sector.

Autonomy Presents an ‘Inflection Point’

Scaringe, speaking to investors and analysts during the call, said that he could see a time in the future where self-driving technology’s cost could be “embedded into the price of the vehicle” and that it was an “inflection point” for the sector.

“Autonomy represents a big shift in the overall topology of the auto industry. I think it is going to be a big driver of market share, and it could drive huge changes in market share,” he said during the call.

The Rivian CEO also shed light on Rivian’s Autonomy+ subscription, saying that the technology had “exceeded” expectations and that the “Universal Hands-Free” driving system can drive across “billions of miles across the U.S.”

Scaringe also hailed Rivian’s “Point to Point” supervised self-driving system, which is like the Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Full Self-Driving Supervised (FSD) system, can “navigate through four-way stops, through complex interchanges, highway on and off ramps.”

He said that the product can create “new levels of demand” for Rivian vehicles. However, Scaringe also acknowledged that autonomy currently is not a “major driver for most customers” in the U.S., but that there will be a “much broader set of customers start to really look for advanced capabilities,” with Point to Point serving as the “unlock” for them.

The company also said that the Point to Point system will serve as the “first of multiple key steps that ultimately lead to the Level 4 capability that we are planning for 2028.”

VW Accounts for 60% of Software Revenue

The automaker also said that its partnership with German automaker Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAGY) has been a major source of revenue for Rivian. “60% of software and services revenue was attributable to our joint venture with Volkswagen Group,” Rivian CFO Claire McDonough said.

She also outlined that the automaker had generated $605 million of revenue from its software and services sector, demonstrating a 45% YoY boost for Rivian.

However, the VW partnership also opens the door for Rivian to compete against Chinese competitors in the European market, with the ID.Every1 that will be built on Rivian’s software and electric architecture and launch next year in Europe.

“This is a vehicle that’s going to be competing directly against not only European manufacturers but also Chinese manufacturers,” Scaringe said, adding that the vehicle presented Rivian with the opportunity to showcase its capabilities outside the U.S. market.

$250 Million Uber Equity?

Rivian also said the self-driving efforts, particularly the Point to Point service, have Robotaxi applications as well, pointing to the Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) partnership to be deployed in 2028.

“We remain on track and expect to achieve our next milestone by the end of this year, which is expected to unlock an additional $250 million of equity investment from Uber,” the company said. Uber had agreed to invest $1.25 billion into the EV maker through 2031, contingent on reaching certain milestones.

Rivian reported third-quarter revenue of $2.155 billion, which beat the analyst expectations of $1.984 billion. Rivian also reported an EPS loss of 48 cents per share, which also exceeded market consensus of 72 cents per share.

Price Action: RIVN shares rose 8.91% to $12.47 during overnight trading on Thursday.

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