Dive Brief:

• Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive “no longer expects to be adjusted EBITDA positive in 2027 due to an expected increase in R&D spend associated with the acceleration of its autonomy roadmap,” according to a Thursday securities filing. The move represents a shift from the path to EBITDA positivity first outlined during its 2024 investor day, which included a planned pullback in research and development spending as it leveraged its previous investments in technology and platforms.
• The increase in R&D spending comes as the EV maker accelerates its plans for autonomous vehicles and technology, CFO Claire McDonough previously noted last month during the company’s fourth quarter and full-year earnings call. “We believe autonomy will be a key fundamental long-term differentiator for our business,” McDonough said, according to a transcript of the Feb.12 call.
• The company’s autonomous tech initiative includes a multi-year partnership with rideshare Uber to “develop, deploy and operate autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform,” according to the Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Dive Insight:

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 the EV maker, with the option to purchase 40,000 more in 2030, Rivian announced in a Thursday press release on the partnership. Uber’s investment will be through 2031 and will be “subject to autonomous performance milestones,” according to the press release.

In accordance with its agreement, a Rivian subsidiary and Uber will work to deploy company vehicles, including its R2 model, which are “equipped with the Company’s Level 4 autonomous driving system, on Uber's ride-hailing and delivery platform,” Rivian outlined in the Thursday filing.

The filing did not detail how much the company expects its R&D spending to jump as part of its push for autonomous vehicles. However, McDonough noted Rivian’s guidance for its adjusted EBITDA results in 2026 included the planned step-up in such spending during the Feb.12 earnings call. Rivian is expecting an adjusted EBITDA loss for its full-year 2026 of between $1.8 billion and $2.1 billion, McDonough said.

For its Q4 ended Dec. 31, the EV maker reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $465 million, compared to a loss of $277 million for the prior year period. For the full-year, Rivian reported approximately $1.7 billion in R&D spend, compared to about $1.6 billion for the prior year.

Rivian is far from the only automaker leaning on autonomous vehicle technology as a differentiator at a time when the EV industry is seeing both rising competition and shifts in consumer demand and spending. Uber itself —which recently saw autonomous vehicle champion Balaji Krishnamurthy step into its CFO seat last month —  has announced plans to be the “largest facilitator” of autonomous trips worldwide and has reiterated its plans to bring such technologies to 15 U.S. cities by 2026, CFO Dive previously reported.

Fellow EV maker Lucid Motors, for example, noted Thursday that its own partnership with Uber and autonomous vehicle firm Nuro is “on track” for a commercial launch late this year, according to its investor day presentation. Announced July 17, the partnership will see Uber deploy a fleet of 20,000 autonomous Lucid vehicles in the U.S. over a six-year period.

Fellow EV maker Tesla has also pushed forward on its long-time plans for a robotaxi fleet, launching the autonomous vehicles — long a passion project of founder and CEO Elon Musk — in its home city of Austin, Texas last year. In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Musk touted Tesla’s robotaxi efforts, claiming they will be “widespread” throughout the U.S. by the end of this year, according to a Jan. 22 CNBC report.

The increased attention on the lure of autonomous vehicles by large EV players comes as the industry has seen a contraction in demand in the face of both shifting trade policies and inflationary pressures on consumers. A March 12 report by EV-focused firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence noted 1.1. million EVs were sold globally last month, representing an 11% drop from sales in February 2025.

The sales slump has also led EV makers, including Rivian and Tesla, to take second looks at pricing: Tesla offered a more affordable version of its Model Y with a price point beginning at $42,000 last year, for example. Rivian, meanwhile, revealed pricing for its R2 vehicle lineup on March 12, which “offers a more accessible price point without a compromise in capability,” according to a press release. Pricing for the vehicles begins at $57,990, with deliveries set to begin this spring.

As well as recording a slump in both new and used EV sales last month, Cox Automotive also noted a decline in the average transaction price for new EVs — which dipped by 1.4% year-over-year in February, according to a March 16 release.