Rivian Recap: 04/17/2026

Hey there,

Here's your weekly Rivian Recap for April 17th, 2026.

2026.07 software issues, slick app update, R2 battery questions, El Cap Granite is gone, and the R2 configurator exists (kinda).

Let's dive in!

Quick PSA, don't forget you can view any previous Rivian Recap edition here.

Software

Last week we had the first waves of 2026.07 rolling out to Connect+ subscribers, hitting both of our vehicles almost immediately.

Well, it turns out this update was perhaps a little shaken (007 reference), because there were issues right out of the gate, and it was pulled.

As noted by our friends over at Rivian Roamer, once Rivian realized there were multiple issues with the build, they correctly paused the rollout.

Thankfully, Rivian was able to fix them up rapidly and reissue a new build number of the same release. Leaving it listed as the same 2026.07 confused a few users though when they "upgraded" from .07 to .07.

Pro-tip: If you live somewhere that your vehicle can't get WiFi when you park at home (like at say, an apartment complex), you'll need to get the car on WiFi to download the update sooner.

Locations such as Starbucks likely don't work due to the captive capture page, but your phone hot spot, libraries, or Rivian Service centers work.

Speaking of Rivian Roamer, they just dropped a neat new feature for Rivian Roamer+ showing you the efficiency of your vehicle compared to not only EPA rating, but also the fleet data.

It's a great little feature that gives you an idea of how you compare.

The steep topography of the PNW coupled with apparently a heavy foot has me below the fleet average and well below EPA for my configuration.

Others in the community have found a way to be far more efficient, I'm sure the flat realities of Florida are playing their part.

While Rivian had a bit of cleanup on aisle 5 related to the in-vehicle software, the companion update they shipped for mobile apps was stellar.

As captured by Jose at RivianTrackr, the animations between vehicles, reservations, and things like charging equipment are very slick.

While the app itself is quite beautiful, and it vastly improves the multi-Rivian ownership experience, there are still a few things I'd love to see addressed in future app updates.

1. The vehicle graphic is quite large and takes up a ton of valuable screen real estate without providing tremendous amounts of value.

2. Other sections such as climate, energy, gear guard, and location all feel way too large considering they are primarily entries into the real controls.

It would be great to see them take this fluid app design and find a way to vastly improve control density, more akin to what Tesla offers.

While not a deal breaker, I think it could be an even better app with the increased density so users spend less time poking around and more quickly doing the action they opened the app for in the first place.

The best I can do is cast my vote and hope they take it to heart.

Hardware

We continue to see more and more employee based deliveries of R2 in different states, along with different paint and wheel combinations.

That includes what is likely to be my ideal spec 👇

(Catalina Cove, Performance/Launch, 20" All-Terrain "Black Sand")

Seeing more of these is getting people excited, and rightfully so.

But a big question is... when is the configurator coming?

Two clues it may be coming "s00n".

1. Employees have access to a configurator, as we are seeing some variance in employee deliveries (although not all colors, and no light interior yet).

2. If you have an R2 reservation, your screen in-app has changed slightly... hinting at things about to get rolling.

Newsletter image

For those who had really early R1 reservations back in the day, be honest.

How many times did you alter your configuration and hit save? 🫣

Speaking of configurations, we knew R2 came with 3 all-new colors.

But one of those colors has now come around to R1S and R1T.

Welcome Half Moon Grey to the R1 lineup.

Unfortunately, the popular El Cap Granite loses it's spot in the paint lineup, which had a really interesting shade of blue that came out in direct sun.

This new grey should give a warmer tone but feel darker in shade than El Cap ever did, and looks particular nice with the darkout package.

An area that Rivian has excelled at historically, is having some truly wonderful colors. Even Compass Yellow, while not for me, was objectively the nicest yellow vehicle I've ever seen.

The Rivian colors, materials, and finishes team is such a strength.

Which makes the primarily monotone R2 color palette a bit of a head scratcher.

I'm kind of obsessed with the Rivian Blue on my R1T, and Red Canyon which was momentarily removed before being added back is one of the genuinely more interesting reds on the market.

It's a well known fact that black, grey, silver, and white are the best selling colors of any vehicle lineup because they are 'safe'.

But the lack of choice is notable for an otherwise aspirational brand.

Clearly I'm not alone in this, and given just how incredible the team responsible for colors really is, I hope we see more fun color return to the lineup.

Lastly, I posted a video this week about the R2 battery based on information found in some EPA filings.

There are some questions about the battery chemistry, and the predicted levels of wear/degradation that we may see over time with these cells.

(But there are a few pleasant surprises baked into those documents).

I wanted to add a few follow-up thoughts that didn't make it into the video, or at least were not as well articulated as I strive for:

1. R2 is expected to have an immensely more capable thermal design, both in heat pump capacity as well as battery cooling design.

These should do a far better job managing heat and thermals, which are the largest enemy to battery health over time, especially when DC fast charging.

2. It turns out that Gen2 Large/Max vehicles have NCA batteries as well, but that may not in fact be the whole story, as they may actually be NCMA.

Further clarification is needed on these Samsung SDI sourced cells.

3. The 4695 cells, which are sourced from LG Energy Solutions, appear to also be an NCMA design, specifically with high nickel.

Will this chemistry change after production switches to Arizona vs South Korea sourcing in the first half of 2027?

The core point of the video still holds, given the different sourcing and form factor of the R2 cell design. But there are some nuances that were murkier than I typically deal with.

At the end of the day, only real-world fleet data will give us a clear picture.

Thankfully, Rivian is adding in-vehicle degradation reporting, so when I get my hands on an R2 I will be tracking this and reporting back.

Question: Would you like to see me get an industry expert on battery chemistry onto the channel to discuss the different tradeoffs between battery designs?

Hit reply and let me know if you'd be into that.

Community

For the community portion this week I wanted to do a bit a creator spotlight for someone I think is creating interesting content.

Check out Thunder Volt Auto, especially if you're into autonomy stuff.

I know just how hard it is to hit that record button and create something that other people in the world want to watch.

Hopefully his channel does awesome and we continue to get a vibrant community of folks excited about the progress, but also willing to be candid when things have room to improve.

The series on the Autonomy+ loop in particular is interesting, and I may try to do something similar in the PNW as these systems often perform differently based on geographic region so added data points really help.

We've seen tremendous variance at times with Tesla FSD based on location, so hopefully with multiple creators contributing we can get a more complete picture.

If you do Rivian content and live somewhere that would make for a good test, I'd encourage to do the same.

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

- 04/23 - Florida Rivian Club x Rivian Stories - RS FamCamp2026

- 04/25 - Bay Area Rivian Club - 5th Annual BARC Breakfast at Alice's + Scenic Drive

- 04/25 - Rocky Mountain Rivian Club - Adopt-a-Highway Clean-up

- 04/25 - Emerald City Rivian Club - Fourth Annual Earth Day Beach Cleanup

(I'll be at the ECRC Beach Cleanup... I hope to see you there!)

Worth Checking Out - VION

It's that time of the year again where the big orb in the sky starts showing up.

Maybe that's more of a northern joke, but regardless it feels like summer temps are coming and VION sunshades that are custom fit for the R1S and R1T can make a big difference for cabin heat.

VION just launched an update to their popular R1S kit that can perfectly fit the 3rd row as well now, and a white version is coming shortly for light interiors.

As a subscriber to the Rivian Recap, you can get 10% off anything site wide with code "TRAVIS", on what is already a stellar product for the price.

Check out their sunshades, carbon activated air filters, and more:

VION Sunshade // VION Air Filters

My thanks to VION for helping make this newsletter possible.

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 20th: 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