At a Glance

  • Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive said in a securities filing Thursday that it "no longer expects to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA in 2027" due to anticipated increases in research and development spending related to accelerating its autonomous driving roadmap. This change marks a shift from its previously outlined path to EBITDA positivity set at its 2024 Investor Day, which included plans to reduce R&D spending to leverage its existing investments in technology and platforms.
  • The increased R&D spending comes as the company accelerates its autonomous vehicle and technology initiatives, a point CFO Claire McDonough noted last month during the company's fourth-quarter and full-year earnings call. "We believe autonomous driving will be a key long-term differentiator for our business," McDonough said during the February 12 call, according to a transcript.
  • According to the filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, the company's autonomous driving technology initiatives include a multi-year partnership with ride-hailing company Uber to "develop, deploy, and operate autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform."

Deep Dive

Rivian announced in a Thursday press release about the partnership that Uber will invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian, and Uber or its fleet partners are expected to purchase 10,000 fully autonomous R2 "robotaxi" vehicles from Rivian, with an option to purchase an additional 40,000 vehicles by 2030. According to the press release, Uber's investment will extend through 2031 and will be "subject to autonomous driving performance milestones."

Rivian outlined in Thursday's filing that under the agreement, a subsidiary of Rivian and Uber will collaborate to deploy company vehicles, including its R2 model, which are "equipped with the company's Level 4 autonomous driving system," for Uber's ride-hailing and delivery platforms.

The filing did not detail how much the company expects its R&D spending to increase as a result of advancing autonomous vehicles. However, McDonough noted during the February 12 earnings call that Rivian's guidance for 2026 adjusted EBITDA included planned increases in such spending. McDonough said Rivian expects a full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA loss between $1.8 billion and $2.1 billion.

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, the EV maker reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $465 million, compared with a loss of $277 million in the same period last year. For the full year, Rivian reported R&D spending of approximately $1.7 billion, compared with approximately $1.6 billion in the prior year.

Rivian is not the only automaker using autonomous driving technology as a differentiator amid intensifying competition and shifting consumer demand and spending in the EV industry. Uber itself—which welcomed autonomous driving advocate Balaji Krishnamurthy as CFO last month—has announced plans to become the world's "largest autonomous mobility facilitator" and reiterated plans to bring such technology to 15 U.S. cities by 2026, as CFO Dive previously reported.

For example, fellow EV maker Lucid Motors noted Thursday that its partnership with Uber and autonomous driving company Nuro is "on track" for a commercial launch later this year, according to its investor day presentation. The partnership, announced July 17, will see Uber deploy a fleet of 20,000 autonomous Lucid vehicles across the U.S. over six years.

Another EV maker, Tesla, has also advanced its long-standing robotaxi fleet plans, launching autonomous vehicles last year in its home state of Texas in Austin—a long-time passion project of founder and CEO Elon Musk. In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Musk promoted Tesla's robotaxi efforts, claiming they would be "widely available" in the U.S. by the end of this year, according to a January 22 CNBC report.

The increased focus on the appeal of autonomous vehicles among major EV makers comes as the industry faces shrinking demand due to trade policy changes and consumer inflationary pressures. A March 12 report from EV research firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence noted that global EV sales last month were 1.1 million units, an 11% decline from February 2025 sales.

The sales decline has also prompted EV makers, including Rivian and Tesla, to revisit pricing: for example, Tesla last year launched a more affordable version of the Model Y with a starting price of $42,000. Meanwhile, Rivian unveiled pricing on March 12 for its R2 vehicle lineup, which "offers a more accessible price point without compromising performance," according to a press release. The model starts at $57,990, with deliveries beginning this spring.

In addition to declining new and used vehicle sales last month, Cox Automotive also noted a decrease in the average transaction price for new EVs—down 1.4% year-over-year in February, according to a report released March 16.