If you're configuring a Launch Edition Performance R2, the 20" All-Terrain wheel upgrade is the smarter long term pick. The 21" All-Season runs a tire size nobody else makes yet, and R1 owners already know how that story goes. The range tradeoff is smaller than you might think.
R2 production is officially rolling at the Normal plant and customer deliveries are coming later this spring. CFO Claire McDonough confirmed the news in a Reuters interview this morning, along with some pretty wild cost numbers on what R2 is actually going to cost Rivian to build compared to the R1.
The gap between what RJ Scaringe has actually shipped in the last eighteen months and how anyone is talking about him feels wider than it should be. Here's the case for why he might be the most underrated CEO in automotive right now.
Rivian has now put out an official statement confirming that an EF-1 tornado touched down at the Normal Plant Friday night, damaging Building 2 which houses R2 assembly. No injuries, and the company expects to resume operations in that building this week. Operations elsewhere on the campus continue as normal.
Rivian's 2026.07 software update quietly improved DC fast charging in a way owners can actually feel. I pulled my 2025 R1T Tri-Motor Max into an IONNA Rechargery in Orlando today and watched it hold above 200 kW from 14% all the way into the low 50s, going from 14 to 70% in 25 minutes flat. Rivian has since confirmed thermal adjustments were made, with more on the way.
