Rivian Recap: 04/10/2026

Hey there,

Here's your weekly Rivian Recap for April 10th, 2026.

New software drops, R2 deliveries in the wild, Gen3 R1 testing(?), questions about R2 audio, and owners realize what was actually included in Autonomy+.

Let's dive in!

Software

First up we have what seems to have caught many Gen2 R1 buyers off-guard with just how less capable their cars became after the Autonomy+ trial ended for many on April 4th.

The combination of likely poor messaging at the time of sale, coupled with the name change from "Rivian Autonomy Platform+" (ick), to the cleaner "Autonomy+" which triggered the end date have led to confusion.

Many owners were under the impression that the early versions of hands free, and lane change on command were "part of the car", and not part of the ever extending trial that their vehicle came with.

As some of the earliest Gen2 deliveries, originally both of our cars had indicated that the trial features would end "Late 2024".

But the culmination of software delays for things such as hands free at all, improvements in micro behaviors, and what was likely a team stretched thin with work on Gen3 RAP1 + LiDAR, the goal post kept moving.

That extended delay, the name change, and the only really notable feature that felt different with "Universal Hands Free" led people to believe that the UHF feature for "back roads" alone was what they were giving up.

But, looking closely at the "Autonomy" page from Rivian, it cuts far deeper than that and many owners are not happy about this revelation in a 6-figure vehicle.

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I've seen similar comments on various Facebook groups, Reddit, and more.

There really seems to be two issues at play here:

1. Poor messaging by Rivian to really hammer home in the early owner experience when a feature was "in an extended trial".

2. An overly punitive free tier that has an awful and irritating operating domain, that no driver should reasonably remember where it does or doesn't work.

Much of this hand wringing could've been solved if Rivian had better messaged from the start other than some fine print only really present on the configuration page (which itself moved dates several times).

But now that we are here, and the base lane centering with hands-on appears to use the same underlying models, the solution feels simple.

Make hands-on lane centering work anywhere the system can see one lane line, as is the current operating domain for Universal Hands Free.

While I'm sure Rivian is worried that the feature gap makes it hard to justify either $49.99 per month or $2.5k once, that feature disparity is only going to widen.

As Autonomy+ gains many more skills in the coming months, the disparity between free and paid will be crystal clear, which may even encourage pricing to increase over time.

In my opinion, they should upgrade the free tier to be hands-on and manual lane changes right now anywhere lane lines exist. Then it can sit there and never improve the free tier again outside of comfort model upgrades.

This would make the free tier a great product worth of the class and price point.

Many people out there, including myself and my wife who was not happy with the reduced operating domain, still plan to pay for Autonomy+. Even in its current form, we find it valuable, especially on highways.

I heard from many of you last week about which path to take for getting Autonomy+ based on your ownership lifecycle as it's a feature you also see value in having. And if you don't? It's a non-event to pass up.

Hopefully whoever is responsible for the product packaging can operate from a sense of confidence about where Autonomy+ will be (soon!).

The current stance of artificially nerfing what is included on a $23k Toyota Corolla feels unacceptable in a vehicle that averages in the mid $90k range.

Next, the dry spell of update is over... but it's mostly a small one.

2026.07 seems to getting pushed quite rapidly to the fleet.

The top things I'm looking forward to are:

1. The setting to no longer dynamically adjust the stream quality mid-song and sound like a 1990's walkman before skip protection 😅

2. Dolby Audio for Apple Music with higher fidelity stereo tracks. Anytime the source material can improve bitrate, I'm here for it.

If you want to know when your vehicle is flagged for the update, before Rivian even notifies you, grab your free Rivian Roamer account here.

Hardware

For hardware this week, we have a slew of R2 news.

First up those employee R2 deliveries are popping up around social media.

The confirmed VINs are quite low, and all seem to be Rivian executives taking the very first few builds. Even with that, this is a big step forward towards R2 production being for real, with eyes towards non-employee deliveries.

To give you an idea of rough timeline to actually hitting customer hands, Rivian has confirmed that test drives will start in June at select Rivian spaces & service centers.

In the meantime, you can check out the vehicle in person (but no test drives) as part of the "R2 Block Party".

Note: If I'm able to get an early customer delivery, I'm planning to do my own cross country road trip where I'd love to meetup with a few of you and give more folks the opportunity to check out R2! ✌️

A ton of people were able to see the vehicles in person at the first stop for the block with overwhelming positive takeaways.

One thing that stuck out to me as a 6' 4" guy though is the accounting of what the much smaller R2 is like for tall people.

The TLDR; it's good news!

One of the more impressive things Rivian has done with the entire lineup is make their vehicles incredible for tall people, but my 5' 2" wife can still be comfortable as well. Hitting that kind of range is not an easy feat.

That probably adds to why so many tall people have found themselves driving Rivians. I mean, just look at this group photo from Camp Rivian in Joshua Tree this past year.

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For all the (earned) praise that Rivian gets for overall packaging, one area that they seem to continue to stumble is around audio quality.

On paper, the R2 should be better equipped with dual force-balanced sub and mid woofers, along with plenty of power.

However, anyone who knows anything about audio knows that paper specs don't mean anything if the calibration/room correction isn't on point.

Our Gen2 vehicles had the worst sound system of any car I had heard at any price point at delivery.

Thankfully, the sound quality has improved by leaps and bounds to go from "dumpster fire" to "fairly enjoyable". But the 'Premium' sound system on Gen2 versions of R1 are still not at the level you'd expect in this price class.

Some early impressions are coming from early R2 builds, and they aren't what you'd hope for given the checkered past of Rivian audio.

Given just how dramatic the turn around was for Gen2, and how much the software teams must have on their plate for R2, I'm really hoping we see a terrific audio solution by the time most customers take delivery.

I will say, given that the R2 is going to be consistently and directly compared to the Model Y for size class, price, software etc... the sound system is a "must have" to get right for a complete package.

It would be a real shame to have such a great overall package to let the air out of the balloon on every drive if the audio can't keep up.

Lastly, we may be getting our first look at the Gen3 suite in testing for R1, given these LiDAR test mules (nicknamed Penguins).

The LiDAR testing suite is not unusual for ground truth, as we saw this in both Gen1 and Gen2 iterations of R1 that clearly haven't shipped with LiDAR.

However, what seems new here are what we see on the corners.

We know that with R2, ultrasonics are dropped in favor of improved 2-mode corner radars giving different patterns to more than makeup for dropping ultrasonics for near field ranging.

Given RJ's comments about being excited for "the next next R1", it would make sense to see some work going into this right now for what is likely to be the 2028 model year of R1.

Community

My local Emerald City Rivian Club, which is arguably one of the strongest and most active Rivian clubs in the country, has recently gone through a transition.

David Cottrell, who started the club is off to a new chapter with his family moving to the Netherlands. In preparation, the club has finalized their 501(c)(7) status, and has a proper board with a new president in Ryan Wallace.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank David for his effort in starting this club, and his work in helping clubs across the country.

David has been a genuinely nice guy and I'm excited for his family to start their next chapter in a new place, taking the ultimate adventure.

Take care and we hope to see you visit the PNW again in the future! ✌️

If you haven't checked out your local chapter, I highly encourage you to do so. Some of the more interesting and kind people I've met are in the community.

From off-roading courses, potlucks, or (as noted below) trailer hookup classes.

It's funny how a vehicle can bring together people from all areas into a common interest and evolve into pretty solid friends.

Here are a few community events over the next week or so:

- 04/18 - Emerald City Rivian Club - Trailer Hookup Class: EXCRC x Inland Northwest Rivian Club

- 04/18 - San Gabriel Valley Rivian Club - Bird Banding in the Whitewater Preserve

A fun thing Rivian is doing for Coachella this year is "Camp Rivian", which it seems to be taking some notes from the incredible experience we had at the Joshua Tree, CA version of Camp Rivian back in September.

I've never been to Coachella, but this feels on-brand for them.

Worth Checking Out - Stay Curious Sticker (R2 Discount)

A fun part of creating content RIvian has been the community, and it has allowed me to start to make a few things for the fans who want to support the work I put behind each video and newsletter.

My first product is a super high quality waterproof, UV-resistant sticker that is designed to hold up on cars, water bottles, etc.

For the stickers, I hand ship each and every one because they are made locally in Tacoma, WA for the best quality I could find.

To celebrate the official start of R2 deliveries, you can take $2 off these stickers for a limited time. Grab the discount here if you'd had your eye on one of these.

Your $2 off per sticker discount should show up in the cart.

Thank you so much to everyone for your support, just by being here!

(There may or may not be some apparel merch coming s00n 👀...)

Latest Deals

The dual-standard configurations are slimming down as this model winds down to the end of production. Even with a 1.99% finance offer, I still would recommend avoiding this build due to BMS calibration issues.

Bonus $500 stacked offer expires April 13th: Details here.

Here's what's sticking out for deals this week:

Get $3k lease bonus or 0.99% for 60 months on these builds:

Dual Large w/Performance [Lease vs Buy Example]:

2026 R1S Dual-Large w/Performance (Premium Audio)

2026 R1T Dual-Large w/Performance (Premium Audio, Utility V2 Tonneau)

[Non-performance large/max get 1.99% finance, no lease incentive]

Dual Max w/Performance [Lease vs Buy Example]:

2026 R1S Dual-Max w/Performance (Premium Audio)

2026 R1T Dual-Max w/Performance (Premium Audio, Utility, V2 Tonneau)

Tri-Max [Lease vs Buy Example]:

2026 R1S Tri-Motor