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Rivian launches hands-off driving assist in latest software update
Rivian is finally making its way into the world of automated driving.
Electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian debuted a new software update this week, and as part of it, the company has started rolling out a hands-off driving assistance system.
Rivian announced the software update in a press release on Tuesday, featuring the newly launched Enhanced Highway Assist for its Gen 2 R1T and R1S, as well as a performance upgrade and a few other improvements. In a separate release, Rivian has also detailed some of the gears behind its approach to autonomy, highlighting that the Enhanced Highway Assist is available for use on as many as 135,000 miles of highway in North America.
Below is a video from CEO RJ Scaringe and VP of Autonomy and AI James Philbin, along with a few more details about the software update and some information from the automaker about the in-house Rivian Autonomy Platform.
Credit: Rivian
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Enhanced Highway Assist for Gen 2 vehicles
The company’s latest software update is deploying the new Enhanced Highway Assist to Gen 2 vehicles, which will let drivers take their hands off the wheel for extended periods of time, not unlike Tesla’s Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD). For the time being, the feature is being offered to owners for free, though it’s not clear if Rivian plans to eventually start charging for the suite.
Enhanced Highway Assist is able to control the vehicles’ steering, acceleration, and braking, and Rivian also uses an infrared cabin camera embedded in the interior rearview mirror to monitor driver attention.
Rivian Autonomy Platform
In the press release dedicated to its autonomy program, Rivian notes that its vehicles include a multimodal suite of 11 cameras and five radars, offering sensor redundancy and a 360-degree view. The company also says that its internally developed cameras have the highest resolution of any vehicle in North America, while its radar systems are intended to help detect objects over longer distances and in low-visibility conditions.
“We are excited to continue releasing new updates and dramatically expanding our autonomy features,” Philbin said. “Everything on our Gen 2 roadmap is capable with the hardware on our vehicles today.”
Rivian says its vehicles also include an on-board compute module that’s capable of more than 200 trillion operations per second, while the company’s machine learning models are trained on the latest ML research and transformer architectures.
Performance Upgrade for Dual-Motor (Gen 1 and Gen 2)
Rivian has also debuted a $5,000 Performance Upgrade for Gen 1 and Gen 2 vehicles with the Standard+, Large and Max battery packs, unlocking 665 horsepower and 829 lb.-ft. of torque. The upgrade also adds three new drive modes, dubbed Sport, Rally, and Soft Sand, to the currently available All-Purpose, All-Terrain, and Snow modes.
Owners can purchase the upgrade from the Rivian mobile app or account page, and it will be downloaded to the vehicle through an over-the-air (OTA) software update.
Credit: Rivian
Rally Mode comes to Performance Dual-Motor vehicles
The update also adds Rally Mode to Performance Dual-Motor vehicles, offering heightened throttle response, crisper steering on just about any terrain. To use the feature, drivers will simply need to switch into Off-Road mode, which will let them select Rally Mode.
Wheel Swap
Owners will now be able to change the vehicles’ wheel type in the settings menu, offering improved range estimates.
Credit: Rivian
Go Chime
Rivian has added an audible chime for when a stopped vehicle ahead starts moving, signaling to the driver that they can start driving too. The chime will first be added to the EV maker’s Gen 2 models, before later rolling out to Gen 1.
Side Mirror Auto-Tilt on Reverse
When drivers shift into reverse, Rivian’s sideview mirrors will now automatically tilt downward to show the curb and road, making parallel parking easier. This feature will also go out to both Gen 1 and Gen 2 vehicles.
Control Chargeport Door from Mobile App
Drivers will now be able to control their charging port door remotely using the mobile app, adding an extra layer of protection for those who walk away without closing it manually.
Tire Puncture Detection
Rivian has added proactive detection for tire punctures and slow leaks, set to notify drivers of a potential flat tire before it happens.
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Elon Musk teases expectations for Tesla’s AI6 self-driving chip
This optimistic timeline for tape-out—the stage where chip design is finalized before manufacturing—signals Tesla’s push to rapidly advance its silicon capabilities.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is outlining expectations for the AI6 self-driving chip, which is still two generations away. Despite this, it is already in the plans of the company and its serial entrepreneur CEO, who has high expectations for it.
Musk provided fresh details on the company’s aggressive AI hardware roadmap, spotlighting the upcoming AI6 chip designed to supercharge Tesla’s self-driving tech, humanoid robots, and data center operations.
In a post on X dated March 19, Musk stated, “With some luck and acceleration using AI, we might be able to tape out AI6 in December.”
With some luck and acceleration using AI, we might be able to tape out AI6 in December
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 19, 2026
This optimistic timeline for tape-out—the stage where chip design is finalized before manufacturing—signals Tesla’s push to rapidly advance its silicon capabilities.
The announcement builds on progress with the predecessor AI5. Earlier in January, Musk announced that the AI5 design was “in good shape” and “almost done,” describing it as an “existential” project for the company that demanded his personal attention on weekends.
He characterized AI5 as roughly equivalent to Nvidia’s Hopper class performance in a single system-on-chip (SoC) and Blackwell-level as a dual configuration, but at significantly lower cost and power usage.
Elon Musk is setting high expectations for Tesla AI5 and AI6 chips
Musk highlighted that AI5 “will punch far above its weight” thanks to Tesla’s co-designed AI software and hardware stack, making maximal use of every circuit. While capable of data center training tasks, it is primarily optimized for edge computing in Optimus robots and Robotaxi vehicles.
For AI6, Musk envisions substantial gains. “In the same half reticle and same process node, we think a single AI6 chip has the potential to match a dual SoC AI5,” he explained.
The company is targeting ambitious nine-month development cycles for future chips, allowing rapid iteration to AI7, AI8, and beyond. AI5/AI6 engineering remains Musk’s top time allocation at Tesla, with the CEO calling AI5 “good” and AI6 “great.”
Samsung is expected to manufacture the AI6 chips, following deals worth billions, while AI5 will leverage TSMC and Samsung production. These chips will form the backbone of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system, enabling safer and more capable autonomy, alongside powering dexterous movements in Optimus bots and efficient inference in expanding data centers.
Tesla to discuss expansion of Samsung AI6 production plans: report
Musk has also restarted work on the Dojo 3 supercomputer project now that AI5 is progressing. Long-term plans include in-house manufacturing via the Terafab facility.
By accelerating chip development with AI tools, Tesla aims to reduce dependence on third-party GPUs and deliver high-performance, energy-efficient solutions tailored to its ecosystem. Success with AI6 could mark a major milestone in Tesla’s journey toward full autonomy and robotics leadership, though timelines remain subject to manufacturing realities.
Elon Musk
SpaceX is quietly becoming the U.S. Military’s only reliable rocket
Space Force drops ULA for SpaceX on GPS launch after Vulcan rocket anomaly investigation halts flights.
The U.S. Space Force announced today it is switching an upcoming GPS III satellite launch from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket to a SpaceX Falcon 9, a move that is as much a reflection of Vulcan’s mounting problems as it is a validation of SpaceX’s growing dominance in national security space launch. The GPS III Space Vehicle 09, originally contracted to fly on Vulcan this month, will now target a late April liftoff on Falcon 9, marking the fourth consecutive GPS III satellite the Space Force has moved to SpaceX after contracts were originally awarded to ULA.
The immediate trigger is a solid rocket motor anomaly that occurred on February 12 during Vulcan’s USSF-87 mission. Although the payloads reached orbit and ULA declared the mission successful, the company characterized the malfunction as a “significant performance anomaly” and has since paused all military launches on Vulcan pending a root cause investigation.
“With this change, we are answering the call for rapid delivery of advanced GPS capability while the Vulcan anomaly investigation continues,” said Systems Delta 81 Commander Col. Ryan Hiserote. “We are once again demonstrating our team’s flexibility and are fully committed to leverage all options available for responsive and reliable launch for the Nation.”
The broader reality is that SpaceX’s reliability record and launch cadence have made it the path of least resistance for the Pentagon, and bodes well with Elon Musk’s plans to IPO SpaceX sometime this year. Its Falcon 9 is the most flight-proven rocket in history, and the Space Force’s Rapid Response Trailblazer program was specifically designed to enable exactly this kind of provider swap for GPS missions, and effectively building SpaceX’s flexibility into the national security launch architecture by design.
For ULA, the stakes are existential. The company entered 2026 with aspirations of finally turning a corner after years of Vulcan delays, with interim CEO John Elbon pointing to a backlog of over 80 missions as reason for optimism. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s contracts with the Space Force have given it a formal pathway to take on even more national security launches going forward.
The significance of today’s announcement extends beyond one satellite swap. It reinforces that America’s most critical space infrastructure, including GPS, missile warning, and beyond, is increasingly dependent on a single commercial provider.
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Tesla Full Self-Driving gets huge breakthrough on European expansion
All documentation for UN R-171 approval and Article 39 exemptions has been submitted, with RDW now conducting its internal review. Approval in the Netherlands is expected on April 10, shifted from the original March 20 target, following 18 months of rigorous collaboration.
Tesla Full Self-Driving has gotten a huge breakthrough as the company is still planning big things for its European expansion, hoping to bring the impressive platform into the continent after years of attempts.
Tesla Europe has announced a major breakthrough: the company has officially completed the final vehicle testing phase for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in partnership with the Dutch vehicle authority RDW.
All documentation for UN R-171 approval and Article 39 exemptions has been submitted, with RDW now conducting its internal review. Approval in the Netherlands is expected on April 10, shifted from the original March 20 target, following 18 months of rigorous collaboration.
Together with RDW, we have officially completed the final vehicle testing phase for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and have submitted all documentation required for the UN R-171 approval + Article 39 exemptions. The RDW team is now reviewing the documentation and test results…
— Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa (@teslaeurope) March 20, 2026
The process has been exhaustive. Tesla said it has logged more than 1.6 million kilometers of FSD (Supervised) testing on European roads, conducted over 13,000 customer ride-alongs, executed 4,500+ track test scenarios, produced thousands of pages of documentation covering 400+ compliance requirements, and completed dozens of independent safety studies.
The company expressed pride in the partnership and anticipation of bringing the feature to “patient EU customers” soon after approval.
Europe’s regulatory landscape has presented steep challenges for Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance systems. The EU enforces some of the world’s strictest safety standards under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe framework, particularly UN Regulation 171 on Driver Control Assistance Systems.
Unlike the more permissive U.S. environment, European rules historically limited system-initiated maneuvers, required constant driver supervision, and demanded country-by-country or bloc-wide exemptions. Tesla faced repeated delays, with initial February 2026 targets pushed back amid RDW’s insistence that safety, not public or corporate pressure, would govern timelines.
Tesla Europe builds momentum with expanding FSD demos and regional launches
A former Tesla executive warned in 2024 that certain regulatory elements could slip to 2028, highlighting bureaucratic hurdles, extensive audits, and the need for harmonized data privacy and liability frameworks across fragmented member states.
Yet progress is accelerating. Amendments to UN R-171 adopted in 2025 now permit hands-free highway lane changes and other automated features, clearing technical barriers. Once the Netherlands grants national approval, mutual recognition allows other EU countries to adopt it immediately, potentially leading to an EU-wide rollout by summer 2026.
This European breakthrough is part of Tesla’s broader push into foreign markets. Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is already live in the United States and expanding rapidly.
In China, where partial approvals exist, CEO Elon Musk has targeted full rollout around the same February–March 2026 window, despite lingering data-security reviews.
Additional markets, including the UAE, are slated for early 2026 launches. These expansions are critical as Tesla seeks to monetize software amid softening EV demand globally.
For European Tesla owners, the wait appears nearly over. Approval would unlock advanced autonomy features that have long been available elsewhere, marking a pivotal step in Tesla’s global autonomy ambitions and reinforcing its commitment to navigating complex international regulations.
Elon Musk teases expectations for Tesla’s AI6 self-driving chip
SpaceX is quietly becoming the U.S. Military’s only reliable rocket
