The EV market isn't dying, it's sorting itself out. At least 18 automakers have canceled or scaled back EV plans in the U.S., but companies like Rivian are doubling down. The difference between who's folding and who isn't comes down to one thing: who actually believed in this from the start.
Rivian is rolling out a new magnetic wireless phone charger in the R1, and we have photos of it already installed in a production unit headed to a customer. The new charger uses two magnets to keep your phone locked in place, and we tested it firsthand to see what it's actually capable of.
Rivian's $1.25 billion Uber robotaxi deal is exciting, but only $300 million is actually guaranteed. The rest depends on hitting autonomy milestones, the Georgia factory doesn't exist yet, and Uber has 25+ other AV partners it can fall back on. The strategy is sound. The timeline is not.
Rivian and Uber are teaming up to deploy a fleet of fully autonomous R2 robotaxis, and the scale of this deal is hard to overstate. Uber is committing up to $1.25 billion in Rivian through 2031, with an initial $300 million locked in right after signing, and nobody saw this coming.
I recently made the case for why the R2 Performance Launch Edition is the best value in the lineup. But starting in late 2026, Rivian will begin shipping R2s with Gen 3 hardware, LiDAR, and the custom RAP1 chip, and there is no retrofit path for early buyers. If autonomy and future-proofing matter to you, here is the other side of that argument.
The R1S Dual Large and R2 Performance are closer than you might think, with nearly identical range and the R2 actually making more horsepower for about $26,000 less. Here's how to decide which Rivian SUV fits your life.
Rivian is piloting a new digital key program at select U.S. service centers that lets owners use their phone as a key on loaner vehicles through the Rivian mobile app, replacing the key card-only experience.
The R2 Performance Launch Edition looks like a $4,000 jump over the Premium, but once you factor in lifetime Autonomy+, the tow package, semi-active suspension, and 206 extra horsepower, the real gap is closer to $1,000 in net value. Here's why it's the smartest buy in the R2 lineup.
Mind Robotics, the industrial robotics company RJ Scaringe spun out of Rivian, just closed a $500 million Series A co-led by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz, bringing total funding to $615 million and a $2 billion valuation in just a few months.
Washington state passed Senate Bill 6354, giving Rivian and Lucid the ability to sell vehicles directly to customers for the first time. The bill is expected to be signed by Governor Ferguson, ending the workaround era and opening the door for full showroom experiences within months.
