Rivian Recap: 10/10/2025

Plus a Rivian service controversy that got leaderships attention.

(Quick house keeping: I'm working on my 1-year review of the Gen2 R1S, so if there's anything you want answered in the review, hit reply and let me know!)

Let's dive in!

R1

After many years of promises, delays and false starts... it looks like a clean in-car texting experience is finally coming in 2025.38.

After recently doubling down on their anti-CarPlay stance, it looks like we are finally set to get a proper in-car texting solution later this month.

Wassym, Rivian's head of software has been saying for years now that their desire was an experience that not only handled SMS, but covered all elements of the in-car experience.

Early versions of an AI powered assistant reportedly fell short of expectations for the customer experience, but it seems they are finally satisfied.

This new solution appears to be powered by Google Gemini in what is now a series of tight Google powered solutions. I think most users would agree that the switch from Mapbox to Google Maps has generally been a net positive.

Now, we should be making the switch from the underwhelming Alexa to Gemini.

I'm most looking forward to that "Verbosity" setting to "Minimal", and then having the car understand more complex requests.

Here's additional info shared over on Rivian Forums about the update.

While this is a BIG step towards what I believe Rivian's vision is, I do still kind of think they should add CarPlay as both a release valve for apps that Rivian is unlikely to make native and to add consideration for new buyers.

There is a large portion prospects who would never even consider a car without CarPlay even if I agree that native experiences are better.

By having that release valve, Rivian can enter consideration for more buyers in a time of uncertain luxury EV sales and win customers over with the native Rivian Assistant experience.

Plus, if there are one or two apps someone uses that don't work great by simply being over bluetooth they can still have an experience that puts the control through the car.

At least for now we are headed for a long overdue upgrade on a fundamental way we interact with our cars while we are driving.

Coupling this with a rapid expansion of hands-free and we could be zipping around in our Rivians, giving it audible feedback on what to do and where to go.

R2 + Beyond

The R2 body shop robots are operational!

With R2 being the make or break model for Rivian to show it can build a car that hits the heart of the market, the continued progress is great to see.

Notable with these robots is the bright yellow paint, which is a stark contrast to the Rivian Blue robots we see on the R1 production line.

It makes me wonder... could we see a bright yellow R2?!

Autonomy

Tesla finally launched their first significant update for FSD since they released v13 in November 2024.

It's been almost a full year since any material difference shipped for their latest hardware fleet, and their HW3 vehicles are stuck on a watered down prior model to even that as they clearly at a dead end for that hardware.

My time with v13 was quite impressive earlier this year, and I'm looking forward to seat time with v14 after a few smaller updates roll out.

Some of the highlight features appear to be improved responsiveness and awareness to emergency vehicles, better understanding of complex scenarios such as construction zones and specifying destination behavior.

Being able to do curbside parking, parking spots (for lots) or even backing up to a charging outpost are all nice qualify of life improvements for those seeking a fully automated transportation experience.

So what does this mean for Rivian and the rest of the market?

It means that the gap in functionality is wider than ever for most OEM's, but with general interest in full autonomy tepid at best, I'm not sure that really matters.

What does matter to people are:

- Safer cars that can react to the surrounding environment

- Quality of life things such as auto park & summon

- Driving aides that reduce fatigue on long travel days

Until auto makers take over liability for these advanced modes, I don't think the bulk of the market is going to care all that much.

However, once the auto makers DO take over liability this will be such a big unlock for so many people. Folks who can't drive due to age or disability will get freedom of transportation back, and busy people get their time back.

Coming up really soon, we have the Rivians Autonomy and AI day which is slated for early-mid December down in California.

Surprisingly, I got an invite to attend the event in person so I will be bringing you a report of what they have to show us shortly after the event.

I'm super excited to be there because I'm in the minority of the market that finds this stuff really exciting, so stay tuned!

Community

What started as a funny group chat joke and grew into a meme has now raised ~$1,700 for the National Park Foundation.

I've said for quite some time now that as much I enjoy the Rivian products, it's the community that makes it special.

For those who ordered at the tail end of the limited run of "Sad Mike" badges, you should be getting them any day now.

Thank you all for participating in the joke and supporting a great cause.

Check out the badge on the back of Scott's R1S, it just looks right!

Latest Deals

The EV tax credit is dead, which changes the calculus on what deals are "good deals" for your new R1S or R1T.

While leasing had been the go-to move with the stacked incentives, Rivian's current incentives have flipped back to a purchase.

You can now get 1.99% financing for all 2025 R1's or 3.99% financing for all 2026's. Given inflation and time value of money, this is probably worth more, to more people, than the lease incentives available right now.

Must take delivery by October 31st.

2025 R1S with suggested options @ 1.99%

2025 R1T with suggested options @ 1.99%

2026 R1S with suggested options @ 3.99%

2026 R1T with suggested options @ 3.99%

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