Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian is facing a class-action lawsuit in the United States, with owners alleging the company made false promises regarding the autonomous driving capabilities of its first-generation R1T truck and R1S SUV models. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, centres on claims that Rivian marketed these flagship vehicles as capable of 'hands-free, eyes-off' driving, a feature often referred to as Level 3 autonomy.
Level 3 autonomy, as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), implies that a vehicle can handle steering, acceleration, and braking automatically under specific conditions, such as on motorways or at low speeds, without requiring the driver's hands on the wheel or eyes on the road. However, drivers are still expected to remain attentive and prepared to take over when necessary. The lawsuit contends that Rivian, through a coordinated national marketing campaign over five years, falsely promised that its 'Driver+' hands-free driver-assistance system would be standard and fully functional in every vehicle it produced.
The legal filing specifically cites appearances by Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, including at TechCrunch Disrupt 2022, where he reportedly discussed the company's autonomous driving aspirations. The plaintiffs argue that despite these representations, the first-generation vehicles were inherently incapable of achieving Level 3 autonomy. The complaint states, "No software update — no matter how sophisticated — will enable its Gen 1 Vehicles to perform as advertised," further alleging that Rivian "unquestionably knew that its Gen 1 Vehicles would never be capable of Level 3 autonomy or 'true hands-free driving' yet continued to tout the supposed capabilities of its vehicles to induce consumers to purchase them."
Rivian has declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. The lawsuit, brought by three named plaintiffs and represented by law firms Coleman Law and Tycko & Zavareei, seeks a jury trial and makes claims against Rivian for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment. This is not the first time Rivian has faced significant legal challenges; last year, the company agreed to pay $250 million to settle a class-action shareholder lawsuit after it abruptly increased prices for its R1 models in 2022.
It is important to note that Rivian's first-generation R1T and R1S vehicles do not currently offer hands-free driving. However, the company's second-generation R1 vehicles, which underwent a significant overhaul in 2024, do include advanced hands-free capabilities. These newer models feature the 'Rivian Autonomy Platform' as standard, incorporating 11 cameras, five radar sensors, and a significantly more powerful computing system. Last year, Rivian rolled out 'Universal Hands-Free' driving via a software update to second-gen R1 vehicles, enabling drivers to remove their hands from the wheel on millions of miles of roads in the United States and Canada, provided visible lane lines are present. This situation mirrors similar legal and regulatory scrutiny faced by other automakers, such as Tesla, over the capabilities of their advanced driver-assistance systems.