Rivian joins the hands-free highway driving party

Long road trips just got a lot less exhausting for Rivian drivers.

On Tuesday, the EV maker announced that it is rolling out hands-free highway driving to its second-generation vehicles via an over-the-air software update.

The feature, called Enhanced Highway Assist, lets drivers take their hands completely off the wheel across 135,000 miles of compatible highways in the US and Canada.

Rivian has long trailed behind rivals like GM with Super Cruise and Tesla with Autopilot, making this roll-out a major milestone for the brand.

Hands off the wheel, but eyes on the road

The new system handles steering, braking, and acceleration on mapped freeways to take the strain out of highway cruising.

There is still a catch. Drivers cannot simply zone out. An infrared camera tucked inside the rearview mirror tracks eye movement to make sure you are still watching traffic.

Look away from the road for too long, and the vehicle will start throwing alerts before abruptly shutting off the feature.

Rivian also teased a much bigger expansion coming in 2026, which will bring hands-free driving to off-highway roads. Even more ambitiously, the company plans to introduce hands-off, eyes-off Level 3 automation next year for low-speed, stop-and-go traffic.

The update is not just about highway cruising. Dual-motor Rivian models are getting a new Rally mode inside the Off-Road menu for sharper steering and throttle response across mud, ice, and gravel.

Rivian is also offering dual-motor owners a 5,000-dollar performance unlock. The paid upgrade unleashes 665 horsepower and 829 lb-ft of torque, along with dedicated Sport, Rally, and Soft Sand drive modes.

Several quality-of-life tweaks made the cut too, including side mirrors that tilt automatically while parallel parking and the ability to close the charging port door directly from the mobile app.

Why it matters

If you own a Gen 2 Rivian, this update delivers immediate value. Hands-free highway driving turns agonizing multi-hour drives into relaxed cruises, and it is a feature owners should start using right away.

The downside is that first-generation owners are left out in the cold, as the feature relies heavily on the newer electrical architecture.

For the broader EV industry, Rivian has finally plugged its most glaring software gap. Competing against luxury trucks and SUVs from Ford and GM without a hands-free highway option was becoming unsustainable in North America.

We think Rivian played it smart by sticking to mapped corridors and strict driver monitoring. Instead of overpromising full autonomy, they gave drivers a genuinely helpful convenience tool.

That said, their pledge to bring eyes-off Level 3 autonomy next year feels risky. Regulators remain deeply skeptical about liability when cars take full control, and bridging that gap is notoriously difficult.