Rivian's Autonomy+ subscription goes live for Gen 2 R1 owners on April 4th, and with it comes a real question about value. For $49.99 a month you get two features today, with the more compelling ones still months away. Here's why a lot of owners are probably going to sit this one out.
The RivianTrackr Tire Guide is now pulling live, real-world efficiency data through an integration with Rivian Roamer, giving owners a constantly updated look at how tires actually perform on the road. The more owners that join and connect their tire, the better the data gets for everyone.
Rivian is taking the R2 on a cross-country Block Party tour starting April 3 in Venice, with stops in seven cities through late May. No demo drives yet, but you can see the colors in person, explore the interior, and hang out with the community.
The Rivian-Volkswagen joint venture, RV Tech, has successfully completed winter testing of its software-defined vehicle architecture, and the milestone comes with real money attached. Volkswagen Group is unlocking another $1 billion investment into Rivian, with the VW ID.EVERY1 being the first vehicle to actually use the tech both companies have been building together. With over $3 billion already invested and potentially $5.8 billion on the table total, this partnership is anything but a side project.
France's Finance Minister confirmed Wednesday that between 30 and 40% of Gulf refining capacity has been damaged or destroyed, pulling roughly 11 million barrels a day off global oil markets — a useful reminder that gasoline pricing is tied to global supply chains in ways that are completely outside your control. Electricity isn't immune to price swings, but it's driven by very different forces, and disruptions like this have a way of sharpening the math on a decision a lot of people were already thinking about.
