Rivian Recap: 10/31/2025

I finally have my 1-year R1S review ready, R2 goes off-road, fresh new details of the ALSO. platform, and more.

Let's dive in!

R1

While it was a pretty quiet week on the R1 front, I guess it's no better time than now to drop my 1-year Gen2 R1S review.

After a multi-week delay (thanks COVID), it's finally here.

This is a longer one than my usual videos, but I still trimmed down to what I felt were the highest value points and gave it chapter markers for easy navigation.

I hope you enjoy it between cute kids ringing your doorbell.

R2 + Beyond

RJ is out there sharing photos of his favorite kid... err, I mean R2.

This time hitting some light off-roading skills, I can only assume for some validation testing.

Nothing too technical, but any time you can get at least one wheel in the air you're probably doing something right.

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Now that we've had a week since the launch of ALSO., we are finally getting more info from your favorite independent creators.

Probably the best video I came across was this one from Miss Go Electric doing a much deeper dive with a team member.

There is a lot tucked away in this video that really illustrates how this mike at $3.5 - $5k is punching above it's weight class.

As someone who owns a premium commuter e-bike, would you want a video showing how these bikes are actually a bit of a steal?

If there's enough interest that's something I could definitely do.

Just hit reply and let me know.

Autonomy

The surprise company in autonomy corner is Lucid, who announced their intent for consumer owned Level 4 cars (think you're own personal Waymo).

Lucid is calling this "mind off" which is basically a slightly larger promise than "eyes off" because the idea is that Lucid would be legally responsible point-to-point vs specific operating domains (such as divided highways).

What's particularly interesting here is that they are doing this announcement for future products built on NVIDIA Drive Thor chips and LiDAR.

Given what we know about the future of R2 and beyond, I'm anticipating the added compute to also be Thor chips (an upgrade over the current Orin chips), and increase camera resolution.

We've also seen evidence that R2 has an affordance for LiDAR, even if it may not ship in the Launch Edition with LiDAR.

Could we see LiDAR and full Level 4 from Rivian in 12-18 months?

Perhaps we'll learn more at the Autonomy day on December 11, 2025.

Community

Last Saturday, the local Emerald City Rivian Club (Seattle), put on a Rivian employee appreciation potluck.

This was a great time to show the Rivian staff we care about them, as well as a chance to get together with others in the community.

My thanks to David Cottrell for organizing the event and sharing some shots of a fun event. Make sure to get involved with your local chapter if you aren't already!

Latest Deals

It's the last day to grab the current R1 deals (just a few hours left). It will be interesting to see what the offers are starting tomorrow.

You can now get 1.99% financing for all 2025 R1's or 3.99% financing for all 2026's.

Must place your order 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%

The lease surprise is that some lease deals have actually gotten BETTER since the EV tax credit ended, thanks to money factors improving.

Your hands down best lease deal is on a dual-standard (with premium audio upgrade of course).

2026 R1S dual-standard (with premium audio)

2026 R1T dual-standard (with premium audio, tonneau, utility panel)

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