Redwood Materials will now recycle Rivian's production scrap and end-of-life battery packs, on top of the energy storage it's already building at the Normal plant. Packs pulled at Rivian service centers will either get a second life as stationary storage or get broken down for their materials.
Rivian's new AWD and long-range Electric Delivery Vans were EPA certified on September 17. Amazon has told drivers to expect them later this year.
Tesla rolled out its first Halloween mode this month, and it's a solid start with a ghost avatar, spooky sounds and a new light show. Rivian answered with a Ghostbusters update that goes much deeper, from a scavenger hunt to full Ecto-R1 builds in its stores.
If Universal Hands-Free keeps asking for your attention on sunny drives, your sunglasses might be blocking the driver monitoring camera. Rivian told me the best fix right now is trying a different pair.
Rivian's Halloween Mode is back starting October 9, and this year it's a full Ghostbusters collaboration rolling out to every R1 and R2. It's live through November 2 with new light shows, lock sounds, a scavenger hunt, and a parked arcade game.
Rivian's 2026.36 update brings Pet Cam to R2 with a live color feed and lock screen snapshots of your pet. Every R1T and R1S also gets remote Pet Mode controls in the Rivian app.
Rivian R2s with VINs around 10,000 and higher are shipping with front seat ventilation in the bottom cushion only, with the backrest fan removed. An R2 technician confirmed the change to me, though Rivian hasn't responded to my request for comment yet.
Rivian closed its $1 billion loan from Volkswagen today at a 6.03% rate fixed for 10 years, with no payment due until October 2028. The loan is backed only by Rivian's half of the joint venture, and Volkswagen has now delivered $5.3 billion of the $5.8 billion it committed.
Rivian just dropped a Ghostbusters teaser on X, and it lines up with Wassym's promise of an early Halloween update. Here's what the clip shows and what it could mean for R1 and R2 owners.
Rivian's 2026.36 update for R1 and R2 adds Gmail support for Rivian Assistant, remote Pet Comfort controls in the mobile app, and Electric Era chargers in navigation. R2 owners also get Rivian Assistant for the first time, along with Pet Cam and a programmable liftgate height.
