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Jose Castillo Founder and Editor
Rivian Rivian R2 Rivian R1T Rivian R1S

Jose Castillo is the founder and editor of RivianTrackr, an independent publication he started to cover Rivian from an owner's point of view. He has followed the company since early in its consumer history and has owned and leased several Rivians over the years, including multiple R1T and R1S vehicles. Today he drives an R1S and an R2 in Florida and uses Universal Hands-Free for his daily driving.

Most of his coverage comes from firsthand access rather than press releases. He was at the R2 First Drive in Park City for hands-on time with the production R2 and RivianOS 2.0, and he reported from SXSW when Rivian revealed the full R2 lineup. He has spoken directly with Rivian leaders like Wassym Bensaid and James Philbin about where the company is taking its software and autonomy work.

Before RivianTrackr, Jose worked at Apple as a software developer, which is part of why he follows Rivian's software and autonomy side as closely as he does. He has also helped more than 400 people order their own Rivians through the site. The whole thing stays independent, written by an owner for other owners.

R2 Catalina Cove

R2 EPA Docs Drop With 335-Mile Range, 210 kW Charging, and a Heat Pump Upgrade

Rivian's R2 EPA certification documents are in, and the range numbers actually beat the company's own estimates. The Performance trim with 21-inch All-Seasons hit 335 miles certified, topping Rivian's projected 330. All-Terrains drop it to 314. The Large pack carries 86.8 kWh of usable capacity with 210 kW DC fast charging. Employee deliveries start this month, so real-world impressions aren't far off.

2026.07 Rivian Software Update

What’s Coming In Rivian Software 2026.07

Rivian's 2026.07 brings a handful of useful changes for R1T and R1S owners. The highlight: Rear Defrost now automatically activates the front wiper heating element too. Apple Music gets Dolby Audio support and a new Streaming Quality setting to reduce buffering. Gen 2 owners also get a fix for inconsistent range estimates and reduced highway steering wheel vibrations.

R2 Glacier White

Rivian Is Now Outselling Ford in Electric Vehicles

Rivian dropped its Q1 2026 numbers and the headline is simple: 10,365 deliveries, 20% more than this time last year. In a quarter where basically every automaker is down, that's a genuinely good result. But the more fun story is what happened to Ford. Their EV sales cratered 70%, falling from 22,550 units a year ago to just 6,860, and suddenly Rivian is outselling them in electric vehicles. That's not a sentence I expected to write in 2026.

Review: Are the Nokian Outpost nAT Tires Worth It for Rivian Owners?

How to Set Up Rivian Roamer and Help the RivianTrackr Tire Guide Get Better

The RivianTrackr Tire Guide now pulls real-world efficiency data directly from Rivian Roamer, which means the more owners who have their tire setup correctly configured, the better the data gets for everyone. Getting set up only takes a couple of minutes, and while you're at it, you can also leave a review for your current tires to help other Rivian owners who are shopping for new ones.