Rivian's RAP1 chip and Gen 3 Autonomy Computer aren't just spec bumps. They're the moment Rivian stops renting compute from someone else and starts owning the whole stack, the same way Apple did when it walked away from Intel and built its own silicon.
RJ Scaringe confirmed to Reuters that Rivian is working on undisclosed R2 variants, even floating the R2X by name before catching himself and saying he didn't want to announce the program. With the Georgia plant being built for flexibility, an R2X performance trim, an R2 RAD Edition, and even a smaller R2T pickup all feel like real possibilities now.
Rivian topped Consumer Reports' Owner Satisfaction rankings for the third year in a row, but didn't pick up a single S&P Global Mobility loyalty award and slipped below average in J.D. Power's premium EV study. Same brand, three of the bigger industry surveys, three different stories, and the reason behind the gap is more interesting than the headlines suggest.
Volkswagen just raised its Rivian stake to 15.9% after another round of share purchases tied to the joint venture's milestone-based structure, putting VW closer than ever to being one of Rivian's most influential outside stakeholders.
Rivian confirmed today that the Cargo Crossbars sold for R1 will not be interchangeable with R2, which is a tough pill for anyone planning to own both trucks given the $700 to $800 price tag on the existing accessory.
Welcome to The Sunday Drive, a new weekly recap rounding up everything from the week in one spot. This first one covers R2 saleable production starting, Q1 2026 earnings, a Georgia plant capacity bump, $1B from VW, and a handful of smaller stories.
The Rivian R2 is meaningfully smaller than the R1S, but the numbers tell a more interesting story than just a shrunken sibling. The R2 is 15 inches shorter, 10 inches lower, and rolls on a tighter wheelbase, yet somehow has more rear legroom than the R1S. Here's the full side-by-side breakdown, including where the R1S still wins.
Rivian's Georgia plant just got a real revision. Phase one capacity is going from 200,000 vehicles a year to 300,000, a 50% jump. The DOE loan also got smaller, from up to $6.6 billion down to up to $4.5 billion. Production is still on track for late 2028, and Rivian now expects to start drawing on the loan by early 2027.
R2 saleable production officially started last week in Normal, the Georgia plant got a 50% capacity bump to 300,000 units annually, and the $1 billion Volkswagen equity investment tied to RV Tech winter testing milestones hit Rivian today. Q1 revenue came in at $1.38 billion with deliveries up 20% year over year to 10,365.
A LinkedIn post from a newly promoted R2 Group Leader is the first employee-level signal that Rivian is already staffing the night shift at Normal, just over a week after R2 saleable production officially kicked off on April 22.
