Rivian News and Rumors

RJ Scaringe Confirms Universal Hands Free on Gen 2 R1 Before Autonomy Day

11/14/2025 at 2:25pm
Autonomy, Rivian, Software
4
Jose Castillo

RJ Scaringe just dropped a pretty huge nugget during his Fireside Chat at Actuate 2025, and it could not have come at a better time with Rivian’s first Autonomy Day right around the corner on December 11. He confirmed that he recently spent two full hours driving, or really not driving, a Gen 2 R1 around the Palo Alto area while the vehicle handled everything on its own. He described it as Universal Hands Free, which is basically Rivian’s version…

If Tesla Adds CarPlay, Rivian’s Stance Could Get Harder To Defend

11/13/2025 at 4:13pm
Rivian, Software
1
Jose Castillo

Tesla spent years insisting that CarPlay would never touch its in-car ecosystem. Now Bloomberg says the company is quietly testing it and might roll it out by the end of the year. If this actually happens, it completely rewrites the conversation about whether Rivian could ever bring CarPlay to its vehicles. Tesla is the poster child for the walled garden approach. They built everything from scratch, from maps to media to voice control, and they refused to let a third…

Rivian Expands Gear Shop With New Gen 2 Front Trunk Accessories and Towing Eyelet

11/13/2025 at 1:43pm
Accessories, Rivian
1
Jose Castillo

Rivian dropped a few new replacement parts in the Gear Shop, and these are the kind of small, practical additions owners always ask about. The new Towing Eyelet is just $35 and is meant for R1 Dual Standard models that do not have tow hooks. It is a simple, functional add on that finally gives those builds a proper recovery point. They also added a Front Trunk Load Floor for $180 for both R1T and R1S. This one is Gen…

InsideEVs Reports Rapid Progress on Rivian and VW’s New Software Architecture

11/13/2025 at 9:49am
Company News, Rivian
Jose Castillo

InsideEVs reports that Rivian and Volkswagen’s five point eight billion dollar software partnership is already moving fast. The joint venture, called Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies, was formed late last year to build the next generation software and electrical architecture that will power future Rivians and VW Group EVs. tl;dr Rivian and Volkswagen’s five point eight billion software partnership is moving fast, per InsideEVs. Their shared EV architecture is finalized, testing begins in 2026, and the first VW model using…

Rivian Fixes Rewards Program, Adds Lifetime Perks and Free RAN Charging

11/12/2025 at 12:57pm
Rivian
1
Jose Castillo

Rivian has officially rolled out a major update to its Rewards program, and this one actually feels like a course correction. Owner Rewards are now a flat 250 points per referral, removing the messy tiered structure and confusing reward caps from before. Each referral also includes three months of free Rivian Adventure Network (RAN) charging, which makes its long-awaited return after being quietly removed back in March. The only exception is California, where state law limits owners to 25 qualifying referrals per year.…