Rivian Recap: 09/19/2025
Hey there,
Here's your weekly Rivian Recap for September 19th, 2025.
The details have come out for the next big software release, 2025.34 and it's loaded some really big new features, delays and details from Camp Rivian.
Let's dive in!
R1
We finally some some R1 news, but it's in the form of a new software update.
Thanks to our friends at Rivian Roamer, we have insight into what's expected in 2025.34 and it's shaping up to be a doozy.
Here are the biggest highlights (but sadly, they are almost all Gen2):
- Co-Steer, where you can nudge the lane position of the vehicle without breaking the rest of the assistance support.
This one should make not only a lot of drivers, but their passengers and/or spouses extremely happy because you can now shade the car away from adjacent lanes or avoid debris easily.
I know this will drive utilization for my wife pretty significantly since lane position was her number once complaint about any form of highway assist.
This all feels like a stop gap for now or even a fallback for a future where the car is better at spacing away from other large trucks and avoiding objects in the future. Co-steer feels like a perfectly reasonable milestone until then.
- Up to 50% operating domain expansion of Enhanced Highway Assist (hands free), particularly on urban and suburban highways.
Ever since Enhanced Highway Assist launched it was unclear to me why the coverage map had such a disparity vs regular Highway Assist. Hopefully this is a stepping stone towards complete overlap.
Next up I really want to see hands-free anywhere it can see lane lines.
- New perception model for improved lane centering, especially on moderate to tight curves.
When Rivian dumped Mobileye usage with 2025.26, the very first thing I noticed was some pretty wild lane centering performance. I may be dreaming but it feels like there must've been some over the air updates to rectify this slightly as, while still underperforming, it has notably improved.
Given how these LLM's work I suspect there's only so much Rivian can do in-between model changes, but they probably do have some nudging they can accomplish. Assuming this at least matches the previous Mobileye centering, I'd expect new builds to ship without the Mobileye system any day now.
- Smart charging that can save the average driver up to 20% when charging at home.
Even though I recently posted a video about how Rivian is focused on DCFC speeds with R2 and beyond, the majority or drivers still charge at home where it's nicer to the battery and importantly, less expensive.
But many drivers are unaware of when the lowest cost times are to charge, so this update hopes to help them get the most juice for the fewest dollars given their home utility.
A solid quality of life improvement that should help the wallet.
- Enhanced Audio for Gen2 Premium (finally!!!)
At the risk of being like Charlie Brown's football, Rivian is claiming what looks like the long promised "big audio update".
I'm more optimistic than I've been in the past because I noted unmarked improvements in 2025.26 with low end performance, and it sounds like we are getting a whole host of clarity and depth improvements.
Plus we will finally get multiple custom EQ's we can save to toggle between!
There are quite a few other performance improvements and bug fixes that should make this likely one of the most important single updates Rivian has shipped for Gen2 customers in the 1+ year time we've owned the vehicles.
Check out the full list of updates here.
Could some game changing hybrid battery designs and new battery chemistry research out of China be changing the EV charing landscape?
See what wild new batteries are going into 30 production EV's this year.
I had been hearing through the grapevine that the CarKey support needed a bit more time to cook, so I'm glad to see Rivian taking an extra cycle here as to not hold up all the other huge upgrades in 2025.34
v2 Powered Tonneau Hits the Gear Shop
Sometimes it seems like it takes Rivian 3 tries to get things right, but wow is the v2 powered tonneau absolutely terrific.
I'm a bit sad my Gen2 R1T has the "v1.5" of the clunky design, as this smooth and smaller slat solution feels like it should've been the natural choice from the get to, but better late than never.
It's $3,300 and you have to contact Rivian to see if your truck is supported.
Based on some forum posts, it sounds like some 2023 trucks (and potentially others) may not have a required wiring harness on-board.
There was a general Gear Shop dump, including a sweet die case R1T in two colors that already sold out, but just today we also got a brake light for crossbars on the R1T when using things like a rooftop tent over the bed.
R2 + Beyond
Isiah over at Rivian Updates got his hands on some photos of the R2 properly charging at a Rivian Supercharger.
It's a beautiful thing to see, in the correct location no less.
That upcoming ebike from mobility spinoff called Also! has apparently been leaked but Electrek who went frame by frame of the teaser video.
And it seems the design is... well, something.
What do you think. Hot or not?
Autonomy
In my research for some really exciting new battery tech coming out of China through CATL (and to a lesser extent, BYD) I was able to spend more time checking out what China is doing with autonomy.
Increasingly it seems like semi-autonomous features are going to be like the 4-minute mile and suddenly "everyone" will be doing it.
As excited as I am by the pending release of 2025.34 and it's improvements to ADAS features, as well as the autonomy day later this year, I think Rivian needs to make up some real ground on things like self-parking.
So many people don't care about point-to-point, but little features that you use every day to make your life easier in well defined scenarios are going to be required to be competitive sooner vs later.
Community
This time last week I was in sunny Joshua Tree, California for Camp Rivian with other Rivian referral partners.
Rivian really put on quite the event, here's my full recap of what the experience was like in case you were curious.
I will say that Rivian wants to do things like this in the future for other owners who hit this milestone (not just a rotating event for influencers) which I was really encouraged to hear.
Should you get an opportunity for one of these in the future I would highly recommend it as it's quite special and unique.
Thank you again for those who purchased their vehicle through my links, it really supports the channel and it was a nice change of pace to hit the event since my regular work schedule can be so consuming.
Second, here's a really fun community post I found on X that shows a fan using Rivian matchbox in really creative ways.
See the users posts here and here.
This was extra fitting with the 1:20 die case R1T's hitting the shop and then immediately selling out.
Lastly, for a good laugh I took a particularly funny photo of fellow Rivian creator Mike Kantorski on a hike in Joshua Tree National Park.
It has now turned into a full blown (and fully endorsed by Mike) meme.
This community is great because they don't take themselves too seriously.
Thanks for being a good sport, Mike!
Latest Deals
A quick extension of deals until September 30th, and there's a super fast promotion for free all-weather mats if you either demo drive or request a trade-in quote and order the same day (expires September 21).
I suspect this will be the best deals we see on R1 until calendar year 2026, unless we see an incentivized interest rate for those who are keen to buy and finance the vehicle.
With that said, it's hard to imagine it could overcome the $7.5k federal incentive + Rivian bonuses on the current lease deals, even if you buy it out immediately at a higher interest rate.
Here are some of the unique/best incentives:
- 2025 Tri-Motors have "stealth" discounts. Things like paint color and wheel upgrades have been zeroed out. One of the better builds now if you were planning on a fancy color and off-road wheels!
- Score a free camp speaker when you do a demo drive or fill out a trade-in request form (but seemingly don't need to do a trade-in) and order the same day. Offer expires September 15th.
Here are the supported builds with offers + my recommended upgrades on audio, tonneau, etc.
2025 Tri-Motor R1S <- Stealth deals (free paint and wheel upgrades)
2025 Tri-Motor R1T <- Stealth deals (free paint and wheel upgrades)
2026 Dual-Max Performance
- 2026 Dual-Max Performance R1S
- 2026 Dual-Max Performance R1T
2025-2026 Dual-Standard (an excellent entry value)
I would highly encourage everyone to lease so you can claim the incentive, even if you plan to buy out immediately.
Here's my video about lease vs buy to help better understand the numbers.
I hope enjoyed 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