Rivian Recap: 11/28/2025

Plus... I just wanted to say thank you for wading through your drowning inbox of email offers on Black Friday for this Rivian Recap... I appreciate you!

Let's dive in!

R1

While my 1-year review gave Rivian credit for improving software quality with each release lately, I did note that just before a big upgrade, we see more bugs.

For example, right before the Google Maps cutover, the Mapbox solution got SUPER annoying with zooming in too close before a turn.

Well, it looks like Rivian may be back to their old bad habits with Highway Assist. Ever since 2025.38.30 on Gen2, availability of Highway Assist took a dramatic step backwards (at least in the Seattle area).

While the big expansion of hands-free was pretty wonderful, ever since the 38.30 patch came through, there have been huge sections of previously working road where ZERO assistance is available.

Or the assistance shows up, but only for 100 yards or so. Making what was essentially flawless, essentially unusable. This has also been replicated in other areas based on what I've seen from posts on X.

It looks like a Rivian Autonomy Platform data update is rolling out now for Gen2, so hopefully this helps solve the issue but it has my eyes locked on the pending 2025.46 update we are expecting shortly after AI & Autonomy day.

Should past results be any indicator of future behavior, could we see the "Universal Hands Free" feature hitting in the .46 update for Gen2?

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Just a quick update to the missing RAD Tuner and KickTurn for the Gen2 Quad vehicles that were originally promised for September.

I had previously linked to an article from The Drive about the delay of the feature, but one line I had not dialed in on until now is that the promise has moved to "by the end of the year".

Ok Rivian. Your goal post moving, self-imposed deadline, has 4 weeks to deliver for your halo performance car.

Even if it's your lowest volume SKU, it's your highest priced product and it needs to deliver on what was promised as the primary differentiating feature. Let's go.

R2 + Beyond

If you've watched any of RJ's interviews, you immediately pick up that he's a true car enthusiast first and foremost. Perhaps even a bit sentimental.

(These are desirable attributes for buyers who also love cars).

That shines through even in the naming of the individual components, and I can't tell you how much I love that. When care is put into each decision, the sum of the parts really shines through.

You can feel this in consumer electronics, and the same is true of these tech forward cars filled with consideration (except of course, that terrible phone "charger" 😅).

One of the best examples of this with R2 is the new Maximus drive unit.

You can see that in his latest social post, just a fun light hearted video about the naming of the unit and its attributes.

I wish more people could have more fun in the process like this.

Autonomy

The hyped AI & Autonomy day is fast approaching, especially by the time the turkey tryptophan wears off, it will be here before you know it.

While I'm excited to bring you coverage from the event as I'll be attending in person, for those who are curious you can tune-in from the comfort of your own home / couch.

Rivian sent out emails to customers, but has also been promoting the event on Rivian.com for folks to setup a reminder.

I'm hoping we get to experience "Universal Hands Free", perhaps some self-parking features, and maybe even some initial intersection controls.

There are more questions than answers right now, but hopefully we get far more clarity in less than 2 weeks.

Do you have specific questions you hope get answered or that I can try to focus my coverage on from the in-person event? Just hit reply to let me know.

Community

So I had a pretty epic level "oopsie" this week.

Running the YouTube channel this year has been a new, fun, and rewarding experience that has allowed me to connect with so many of you.

And with a lifetime of exposure to tech, years in enterprise IT during college, I'm normally extremely careful with data integrity and policies.

But, through a series of oversights and mistakes, I accidentally deleted all the original footage I've ever recorded related to Rivian. 😱

I'm in the process of trying to recover as much of it as I can now, but given the size of the NAS volume and amount of footage, the scan is taking some time.

You can rest assured, when something extraordinarily painful like this happens I take some really serious notes to make sure it NEVER happens again.

Bear with me on the content front as I try to recover what I can.

Latest Deals

In a rare move, we actually see discounts on several popular items and a few new holiday specific bundles on the Rivian Gear Shop.

First are the new "Holiday Bundles" that have some popular collections of gear for a consolidated and discounted price.

If you're looking at these anyway, it's a great chance to save.

Next, we have some of the better accessories on sale.

Such as the All-Weather floor mats, bike racks, and one of my favorites, the Kammock Awning. 

Should you have a few credits to spend in the shop, these are great!

The discounts do expire in the next ~7 days, so take a peek should you be looking for something to treat yourself with anyway.

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The best deal we've seen for a while (and are likely to see) has just a few days left. And that is the $699 lease + $5k cash on any 2026 dual-standard.

Plus you can stack this with up to $3k in additional savings for purchasing the same day as a trade-in quote or demo drive ($1k) and accepting a trade-in offer ($2k bonus).

That's $8k in lease cash bonus value on top of the already improved money factor leasing available on the dual-standard.

You must lease before Monday and take delivery by the end of December.

Here's the bottom line for offers overall..

All 2025's are 1.99% financing, but their lease rates are often worse than the newer model year (dumb).

For 2026's, you can get 1.99% financing for the performance upgraded duals (large and max), or the upper-end tri and quad motors.

Must place your order by November 30th.

My suggestion remain the same as it was during recent 1-year review.

I'd go with a 2026 model year, and lease either a dual-standard (with premium audio upgrade) with $5k lease cash:

2026 R1S dual-standard (with premium audio)

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

OR, I'd go up to a 2026 tri-motor for the improved driving dynamics.

2026 R1S tri-motor

2026 R1T tri-motor

Grab either of those on a lease, and snag the extra $2k when you trade-in, plus another $1k for doing it the same day as a demo drive or trade-in quote.

Plus get either 100 gear shop credits for dual-standard, 250 for dual-large/max or 500 points with a tri/quad-motor variants when you use a referral.

All referrals also get 3 months of free charging on the Rivian Adventure Network, which would be handy with holiday travel.

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