CEO of electric vehicle technology and manufacturing company Rivian – RJ Scaringe, believes that the future of self-driving technology in cars will be like airbags or ABS anti-lock braking systems. When from a premium feature that requires additional payment becomes a standard equipment integrated into the car’s selling price.
The assessment was made by him in an interview with WIRED magazine, in the context that electric vehicle manufacturers are fiercely competing in ride-assistance and self-driving technology.
According to Mr. RJ Scaringe, the fee that manufacturers currently collect for self-driving software will be difficult to maintain in the long term as more and more businesses master this technology.
Currently, Rivian offers the Autonomy+ package for $2,500 or a subscription of $49.99 per month. Meanwhile, Tesla once sold the Full Self-Driving (FSD) package for $8,000 before completely switching to a $99/month subscription form from the beginning of this year.
In China, electric car manufacturer BYD chose a different direction when integrating the “Magic Eye” driving support system for free on many car models.
When asked how long Rivian can maintain its current price if competitors continue to provide similar technology at low cost or free of charge, Mr. Scaringe admitted that the price advantage only exists when the number of technology-owning businesses is limited.
According to him, as more and more car manufacturers successfully develop self-driving systems, the fee for these features will decrease significantly.
However, that does not mean self-driving technology loses its important role. On the contrary, it will become a mandatory factor for competition in the market.
Mr. Scaringe compares the development of self-driving technology to airbags in cars. Decades ago, airbags were a paid option on high-end car models.
Over time, as technology became more popular and safety standards were raised, airbags became the default equipment on most new cars.
This viewpoint creates a significant difference compared to Tesla’s strategy. For many years, Tesla has consistently emphasized that the value of FSD (Advanced Driving Support Software Pack developed by Tesla) will increase as the technology becomes more complete.
Tesla CEO – Elon Musk has repeatedly stated that self-driving software prices will continue to increase as the system gets closer to fully automatic operation.
However, the reality of the market is showing the opposite trend. The emergence of new competitors, especially Chinese automakers, is creating downward pressure on ride-hailing technology. BYD is a typical example of integrating many advanced features without requiring customers to pay extra fees.
Scaringe also believes that the biggest weakness of Western manufacturers today is price competitiveness. According to him, car manufacturers in North America and Europe are under increasing pressure from Chinese businesses, where the cost of developing and deploying technology is significantly lower.