Rivian Recap: 07/25/2025

Let's dive in.

R1

My 5,230 mile Rivian R1S Road Trip. The good, the bad, and the UGLY.

Rivian adds NACS to their first RAN locations.

TK Note: This is essentially how I expected them to do this, but I had hoped for a 'magic dock' type solution like Tesla. This means eventually the majority of the current fleet today will probably need adapters to use the Rivian Adventure Network in the not too distant future. 🙃

Gear shop purchases now require $300 in car value for free shipping?

TK Note: That seems... steep. For now, you can get Rivian gear through their Amazon shop with free shipping.

A 1 of 1 special Pebble Beach Rivian R1S goes up for auction.

New Rivian Outpost: The Hamptons

TK Note: Between the one-off Rivian and the Hamptons as an outpost. It makes me question the strategy Rivian is using to try and move more vehicles. 🤔

R2

The battery, propulsion and chassis was shown off as part of the assembly line proceedings.

It's clear that efficiency and cost reduction was the objective with this product while still maintaining most of what makes the Rivian experience unique.

I'm hoping we start getting a better idea around trims, pricing and overall performance as we get closer and closer to the first customer ready builds rolling off the line.

Community

Rivian shows off content from their 'Friends and Family day'.

It looks like attendees had a genuinely good time!

...

I continue to think that people in the Rivian community (just like you) are easily half of what makes owning a Rivian so fun.

Kind people, out there doing fun stuff.

I've tried to encompass a bit of this energy into a saying I've held for a while into my first sticker drop that just came in from the local print shop.

"Stay Curious"

They are waterproof 💧, and made in America 🇺🇸.

I'm hoping this will be the first in a line of merch available on the channel, but if I see you in person out and about I'd love to gift you one 👊.

Would you buy these if I made them available? What would you pay if I included shipping to anywhere in the US?

Autonomy

Electrek has been on a bit of a tear lately with articles about the struggles of Tesla's autonomy program, which tends to reinforce my skepticism about pure-play vision-only 'solutions' to level 4 autonomy.

Here are 3 key articles you may find interesting:

- Tesla is about to launch Robotaxi in the Bay Area, but with a driver in the seat

- 'Unsupervised driving is not solved' 

TK note: Except, of course, for companies who use LiDAR and have racked up 100 million miles for Waymo alone, and are rapidly accelerating.

- Tesla might lose the ability to sell cars in California for 30 days ( approximately 50% of the remaining time for tax credit eligibility). Due to false claims about FSD performance and capability.

FSD remains one of the most impressive drivers assistance systems available on the open market today, and yet it has flaws that keep it from being a "no driver in the seat" solution.

That might be ok though, since most people actually want assistance, not full autonomy (AAA survey results).

Latest Deals

With the tax credit expiring for leases on September 30th, now is the best time to lock-in a deal, especially on a 2025 R1S or R1T.

The main change for 2026 is native NACS, a $1,000 MSRP increase + cost reductions, but 2026's are officially in the R1 Shop.

Check out these limited run R1S and R1T's in Red Canyon and Limestone for the 2026 model year with NACS.

If you like either of those colors, act fast, because those colors are now discontinued so when these are gone... they're gone.

The best deal you should act fast on with the EV tax credit going away in just a few days is the standard pack R1S and R1T with the LFP battery.

Lease deals can be had for as low as $649/month now, but the preferred configurations with better audio and things like the powered v2 tonneau bump that up slightly.

Electric Refresh Offer

Tri-Motor Deals

If the tri-motor is more your style, Rivian is offering a 'downpayment on them' where they will pay $6,500 of your down payment for a lease.

So if you're looking at a tri-motor R1S or tri-motor R1T, you can stack some of these offers together for a great deal on a heck of a 2025 configuration.

I hope enjoyed the this weeks edition of the Rivian Recap. Let me know what you'd like to see more of in future editions!

Even if you just want to say hi, hit reply – I'd love to get to know you 👋

Stay curious ✌️,

Travis Ketchum

P.S. Thinking about buying a new Rivian?

Make sure you use a referral code. A friend, a neighbor, or someone who has helped you along the way.

Here's mine: TRAVIS4699411