Rivian just had its best commercial van quarter ever and it barely made a ripple. More than double the sales year over year, and the conversation is still almost entirely R2. The van is holding the floor while the new stuff finds its footing, and it's not getting nearly enough credit for it.
Rivian's R1 color palette has been quietly shrinking for two years, and the options disappearing aren't the boring ones. Compass Yellow, Limestone, El Cap Granite, and a too-brief run of Borealis are all gone, replaced by another shade of grey. Here's a look at what we've lost and where things stand today.
Autonomy+ is easy to dismiss right now. The feature set is light, the big capabilities aren't here yet, and $50 a month is a tough sell for hands-free lane centering. But the $2,500 one-time payment is a different conversation. You're not paying for what Autonomy+ is today. You're locking in at today's price for everything it becomes, point-to-point driving, eyes-off capability, and eventually personal Level 4 autonomy, all tied to your VIN and yours for the life of the truck. Tesla just killed their one-time FSD purchase option entirely and confirmed the $99 monthly price is only going up from here. Rivian is still offering you a way out of that subscription trap. It might not be open forever.
While the autonomous vehicle industry chases robotaxis, the ALSO-DoorDash partnership makes the case that last-mile delivery might be the more interesting problem to solve, and that the right structure for cracking it is an operator and a builder committing to each other early.
Rivian's Autonomy+ subscription goes live for Gen 2 R1 owners on April 4th, and with it comes a real question about value. For $49.99 a month you get two features today, with the more compelling ones still months away. Here's why a lot of owners are probably going to sit this one out.
