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

Universal Hands-Free

Rivian Point-to-Point This Year, Eyes Off Next, Says RJ Scaringe

RJ Scaringe went on Masters of Scale and put fresh dates on Rivian's autonomy rollout, with supervised Point-to-Point arriving this year and eyes off driving next year. Here is what he confirmed on the VW deal, Uber robotaxis, and Mind Robotics, plus where I land on whether the timeline actually holds.

R2 Interior

The Rivian R2 Drops FM Radio for iHeartRadio

The R2 does not come with a traditional FM tuner. It leans on iHeartRadio instead, streaming your local stations over the internet for free. For most owners that is a non issue, since FM usage on the R1 was already sitting in the single digits. The real catch is what happens once you drive past the last bar of signal.

R2 Gear Shop

Rivian Lists Its First Wave of R2 Accessories

Rivian has filled the Gear Shop with its first full run of R2 accessories, from two wheel and tire sets and a compact spare to crossbars and a HEST camping mattress. Here is everything that dropped and what each one costs.

Rivian R2

R2 Performance Leases for Model Y Money, Full Breakdown

Rivian's R2 Performance Launch Edition lease numbers are out, and they land right on top of the Tesla Model Y Performance. Both start at $57,990, with monthly payments within about sixty bucks of each other. Here is the full breakdown against the Model Y and the entry R1S, including where the Tesla still wins and where the residuals actually flip.