Rivian owners sue over false promises on self-driving features

Rivian has been sued implicit allegations that the EV shaper made mendacious claims astir the autonomous driving capabilities of its R1T motortruck and R1S SUV models.

The people enactment complaint, which was filed Wednesday successful the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, focuses connected the first-generation models of the R1T and R1S and claims that Rivian represented that these flagship vehicles would beryllium susceptible of hands-free, eyes-off driving.

This benignant of capableness is besides called Level 3 autonomy, a designation by the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) that means the conveyance tin automatically grip steering, acceleration, and braking without the driver’s hands connected the instrumentality oregon eyes connected the roadworthy successful definite conditions specified arsenic highways oregon astatine debased speeds. This doesn’t mean these vehicles are afloat autonomous; the quality operator is inactive expected to enactment attentive and instrumentality implicit erstwhile necessary.

The suit alleges Rivian falsely promised, implicit a five-year play and done a coordinated nationwide selling campaign, that it would marque its hands-free operator assistance strategy — known arsenic Driver+ — modular successful each conveyance it builds. Among the appearances cited successful the suit: Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s quality astatine TechCrunch Disrupt 2022, wherever helium reportedly made representations astir the company’s autonomous driving ambitions.

“No bundle update — nary substance however blase — volition alteration its Gen 1 Vehicles to execute arsenic advertised,” the ailment reads. “Rivian unquestionably knew that its Gen 1 Vehicles would ne'er beryllium susceptible of Level 3 autonomy oregon ‘true hands-free driving’ yet continued to tout the expected capabilities of its vehicles to induce consumers to acquisition them.”

Rivian declined to remark connected the lawsuit, citing pending litigation.

The lawsuit, which includes 3 named plaintiffs, makes claims against Rivian for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment. Coleman Law and Tycko & Zavareei, the instrumentality firms representing the plaintiffs, person requested a assemblage trial.

It wouldn’t beryllium the archetypal clip Rivian has faced a palmy ineligible challenge. Last year, the institution agreed to wage $250 cardinal to settle a people enactment shareholder lawsuit filed aft it abruptly hiked prices connected its R1 pickup motortruck and SUV successful 2022.

Rivian’s first-generation R1T and R1S vehicles bash not connection hands-free driving. Its second-generation vehicles, which were overhauled successful 2024, do. The second-generation vehicles look materially the same, but Rivian revamped their internals, including the artillery battalion and suspension system, the electrical architecture, interior seats, and sensor stack.

As portion of the revamp, the second-gen R1 vehicles were equipped with the “Rivian Autonomy Platform,” which comes modular and includes 11 cameras, 5 radar sensors, and a machine that is 10 times much almighty than the erstwhile system, the institution told TechCrunch astatine the time.

The precocious operator assistance strategy successful the second-gen models initially included adaptive cruise control, which maintains velocity and region down vehicles connected the highway, and a road assistance diagnostic that automatically steers, brakes, and accelerates connected prime highways. 

Last year, Rivian rolled retired “Universal Hands-Free” driving via a bundle update pushed retired to second-gen R1 vehicles. The diagnostic allows drivers to instrumentality their hands disconnected the instrumentality connected much than 3.5 cardinal miles of roads successful the United States and Canada, including a premix of highways and aboveground streets, arsenic agelong arsenic determination are disposable lane lines.

Rivian isn’t the lone automaker to look ineligible challenges implicit promises to present self-driving features. Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk person spent a decennary claiming that its vehicles would beryllium afloat autonomous via its Full Self-Driving software. Some owners have sued Tesla for failing to present unsupervised Full Self-Driving.

Tesla has besides travel nether regulatory scrutiny for claims astir the capabilities of its FSD and Autopilot precocious operator assistance systems. The California Department of Motor Vehicles filed accusations alleging Tesla violated authorities instrumentality by deceptively selling Autopilot, its basal precocious driver-assistance system, arsenic good arsenic its much susceptible Full Self-Driving software. A justice ruled successful the DMV’s favor, but the bureau decided successful February not to suspend Tesla’s income and manufacturing licenses, a 30-day punishment it opted to forgo due to the fact that the EV shaper has stopped utilizing the word “Autopilot” successful its California marketing.