Rivian's decision to forgo CarPlay is a long-term strategic bet on AI. The company believes that to deliver advanced, integrated AI features, it must control the entire digital experience, connecting vehicle state, driver history, and various apps—a task it argues is impossible when ceding control to an overlay like CarPlay.

Incumbent automakers evolved with 100+ separate computer modules, creating a complex system. Newcomers like Rivian and Tesla start with a centralized, "zonal" architecture. This clean-sheet design dramatically simplifies over-the-air updates, reduces costs, and enables more advanced, integrated AI features.

The intense consumer demand for Apple's CarPlay is the focal point for a larger platform war. By ceding the dashboard interface to Apple, automakers risk losing control over user experience, data, and future in-car revenue streams—a critical mistake other industries have made when confronted by big tech.

Instead of building its own capital-intensive robotaxi fleet, Waive's go-to-market strategy is to sell its autonomous driving stack to major auto manufacturers. This software-centric approach allows them to leverage the scale, distribution, and hardware infrastructure of established OEMs to reach millions of consumers.

Rivian's CEO explains that early autonomous systems, which were based on rigid rules-based "planners," have been superseded by end-to-end AI. This new approach uses a large "foundation model for driving" that can improve continuously with more data, breaking through the performance plateau of the older method.

Ford's CEO sees a future where Apple's CarPlay Ultra may seek to control core vehicle functions. He argues the onus is on Apple to decide how deep its integration goes. If Apple demands full control, it could force Ford to prioritize its own system built on Android Automotive.

Rivian's unprofitability is linked to its high degree of vertical integration. While this strategy is expected to yield a long-term "structural advantage," it carries enormous fixed costs. Achieving profitability hinges on reaching a critical volume of production, a milestone the company expects to hit with its mass-market R2 vehicle.

RJ Scaringe argues that while Chinese EV costs are low due to economic factors like cheap capital and labor, their more significant advantage is their advanced, clean-sheet software and electronics platforms—an area where legacy automakers are far behind and which tariffs cannot easily address.

GM's Chief Product Officer frames the controversial decision to ditch Apple CarPlay as a 'Jobsian' move, akin to removing the disk drive. The company believes its integrated, native infotainment system represents the next, superior technology 'S-curve' that will ultimately provide a better user experience by leveraging the car's unique hardware and capabilities.