Rivian owners file lawsuit alleging false promises on self-driving features
Rivian owners file lawsuit alleging false promises on self-driving features
Rivian 车主提起诉讼，指控其对自动驾驶功能做出虚假承诺
Rivian has been sued over allegations that the EV maker made false claims about the autonomous driving capabilities of its R1T truck and R1S SUV models. The class action complaint, which was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, focuses on the first-generation models of the R1T and R1S and claims that Rivian represented that these flagship vehicles would be capable of hands-free, eyes-off driving.
Rivian 因被指控对其 R1T 皮卡和 R1S SUV 车型的自动驾驶能力做出虚假宣传而遭到起诉。这份于周三在美国加州中区联邦地区法院提交的集体诉讼，主要针对第一代 R1T 和 R1S 车型。诉状称，Rivian 曾表示这些旗舰车型将具备“脱手、脱眼”（hands-free, eyes-off）的自动驾驶能力。
This kind of capability is also called Level 3 autonomy, a designation by the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) that means the vehicle can automatically handle steering, acceleration, and braking without the driver’s hands on the wheel or eyes on the road in certain conditions such as highways or at low speeds. This doesn’t mean these vehicles are fully autonomous; the human driver is still expected to stay attentive and take over when necessary.
这种能力被称为 3 级自动驾驶（Level 3 autonomy），根据美国汽车工程师学会（SAE）的定义，这意味着车辆在高速公路或低速行驶等特定条件下，无需驾驶员手扶方向盘或注视路面，即可自动处理转向、加速和制动。但这并不意味着车辆是完全自动驾驶的；人类驾驶员仍需保持专注，并在必要时接管车辆。
The lawsuit alleges Rivian falsely promised, over a five-year period and through a coordinated nationwide marketing campaign, that it would make its hands-free driver assistance system — known as Driver+ — standard in every vehicle it builds. Among the appearances cited in the suit: Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s appearance at TechCrunch Disrupt 2022, where he reportedly made representations about the company’s autonomous driving ambitions.
诉讼指控 Rivian 在五年时间里，通过协调一致的全国性营销活动虚假承诺，将其名为“Driver+”的脱手驾驶辅助系统作为其生产的每一辆车的标配。诉讼中引用的案例包括 Rivian 首席执行官 RJ Scaringe 在 2022 年 TechCrunch Disrupt 大会上的发言，据报道，他在会上就公司的自动驾驶雄心做出了陈述。
“No software update — no matter how sophisticated — will enable its Gen 1 Vehicles to perform as advertised,” the complaint reads. “Rivian unquestionably knew that its Gen 1 Vehicles would never be capable of Level 3 autonomy or ‘true hands-free driving’ yet continued to tout the supposed capabilities of its vehicles to induce consumers to purchase them.” Rivian declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation.
诉状写道：“没有任何软件更新——无论多么先进——能让其第一代车型实现广告中所宣传的功能。Rivian 无疑清楚其第一代车型永远无法达到 3 级自动驾驶或‘真正的脱手驾驶’水平，但仍继续吹嘘其车辆的所谓能力，以诱导消费者购买。”Rivian 以案件正在审理中为由，拒绝就此诉讼发表评论。
The lawsuit, which includes three named plaintiffs, makes claims against Rivian for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment. Coleman Law and Tycko & Zavareei, the law firms representing the plaintiffs, have requested a jury trial. It wouldn’t be the first time Rivian has faced a successful legal challenge. Last year, the company agreed to pay $250 million to settle a class action shareholder lawsuit filed after it suddenly hiked prices on its R1 pickup truck and SUV in 2022.
该诉讼包含三名原告，指控 Rivian 存在欺诈、过失虚假陈述和不当得利行为。代表原告的律师事务所 Coleman Law 和 Tycko & Zavareei 已要求进行陪审团审判。这并非 Rivian 首次面临法律挑战。去年，该公司同意支付 2.5 亿美元，以和解一起股东集体诉讼。该诉讼源于 Rivian 在 2022 年突然上调 R1 皮卡和 SUV 的价格。
Rivian’s first-generation R1T and R1S vehicles do not offer hands-free driving. Its second-generation vehicles, which were overhauled in 2024, do. The second-generation vehicles look materially the same, but Rivian revamped their internals, including the battery pack and suspension system, the electrical architecture, interior seats, and sensor stack.
Rivian 的第一代 R1T 和 R1S 车型并不提供脱手驾驶功能。而其在 2024 年进行全面升级的第二代车型则具备该功能。第二代车型在外观上基本相同，但 Rivian 对其内部进行了彻底改造，包括电池组、悬挂系统、电气架构、车内座椅以及传感器堆栈。
As part of the revamp, the second-gen R1 vehicles were equipped with the “Rivian Autonomy Platform,” which comes standard and includes 11 cameras, five radar sensors, and a computer that is 10 times more powerful than the previous system, the company told TechCrunch at the time. The advanced driver assistance system in the second-gen models initially included adaptive cruise control, which maintains speed and distance behind vehicles on the highway, and a highway assist feature that automatically steers, brakes, and accelerates on select highways.
作为升级的一部分，第二代 R1 车型配备了“Rivian 自动驾驶平台”（Rivian Autonomy Platform）。该公司当时告诉 TechCrunch，该平台为标配，包含 11 个摄像头、5 个雷达传感器，以及算力比上一代系统强 10 倍的计算机。第二代车型的高级驾驶辅助系统最初包括自适应巡航控制（在高速公路上保持车速和跟车距离）以及在特定高速公路上自动转向、制动和加速的高速公路辅助功能。
Last year, Rivian rolled out “Universal Hands-Free” driving via a software update pushed out to second-gen R1 vehicles. The feature allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on more than 3.5 million miles of roads in the United States and Canada, including a mix of highways and surface streets, as long as there are visible lane lines.
去年，Rivian 通过软件更新向第二代 R1 车型推送了“通用脱手驾驶”（Universal Hands-Free）功能。只要有清晰的车道线，该功能允许驾驶员在美国和加拿大超过 350 万英里的道路（包括高速公路和地面道路）上脱手驾驶。
Rivian isn’t the only automaker to face legal challenges over promises to deliver self-driving features. Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have spent a decade claiming that its vehicles would be fully autonomous via its Full Self-Driving software. Some owners have sued Tesla for failing to deliver unsupervised Full Self-Driving. Tesla has also come under regulatory scrutiny for claims about the capabilities of its FSD and Autopilot advanced driver assistance systems.
Rivian 并非唯一一家因承诺提供自动驾驶功能而面临法律挑战的汽车制造商。特斯拉及其首席执行官埃隆·马斯克十年来一直声称，其车辆将通过“全自动驾驶”（FSD）软件实现完全自动驾驶。一些车主已起诉特斯拉未能交付无需监管的“全自动驾驶”功能。特斯拉还因对其 FSD 和 Autopilot 高级驾驶辅助系统能力的宣传而受到监管审查。
The California Department of Motor Vehicles filed accusations alleging Tesla violated state law by deceptively marketing Autopilot, its basic advanced driver-assistance system, as well as its more capable Full Self-Driving software. A judge ruled in the DMV’s favor, but the agency decided in February not to suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing licenses, a 30-day penalty it opted to forgo because the EV maker has stopped using the term “Autopilot” in its California营销.
加州机动车管理局（DMV）曾指控特斯拉违反州法律，对其基础高级驾驶辅助系统 Autopilot 以及功能更强大的“全自动驾驶”软件进行了欺骗性营销。法官做出了有利于 DMV 的裁决，但该机构在 2 月份决定不暂停特斯拉的销售和制造许可。DMV 选择放弃这一为期 30 天的处罚，原因是这家电动汽车制造商已停止在加州的营销中使用“Autopilot”一词。