Rivian faces a class action lawsuit brought by owners of its first-generation R1T truck and R1S SUV, alleging the company marketed self-driving and hands-free driving capabilities that the vehicles cannot currently deliver. Multiple outlets report that the plaintiffs claim Rivian made those promises for years and that the early R1 models lack the hardware needed to support higher levels of automated driving they were allegedly marketed as providing.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges Rivian represented the vehicles as capable of level 3 autonomous driving or hands-free, eyes-off operation. Plaintiffs argue that despite these representations, the first-generation vehicles do not have the required components to enable such functionality.
Rivian has not been described in the provided reports as admitting wrongdoing, and the matter is at the complaint stage. The case centers on the accuracy of Rivian’s marketing and communications about the self-driving features its early vehicles could achieve.
