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Rivian teams up with Ben & Jerry’s on an electric ice cream truck
The age-old ice cream truck gets some new electric digs.
Rivian has officially teamed up with the ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s to launch an electrified ice cream truck, weeks after the electric vehicle (EV) maker launched its van to more commercial customers.
As detailed in a press release on Tuesday, Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s have unveiled two “Scoop Trucks,” a pair of electric ice cream trucks based on the Rivian Commercial Van (RCV). Rivian officially launched the RCV to commercial customers beyond its early partner Amazon last month, and the Scoop Truck is one of the first we’ve seen of its modular use cases in the weeks since.
The companies plan to debut the first of the electric ice cream trucks at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas, which starts on Friday. After the festival, both of the Scoop Trucks will be hitting the road across the U.S., along with joining a series of pop-up events in Vermont, where Ben & Jerry’s is headquartered.
Credit: Ben & Jerry’s
Credit: Ben & Jerry’s
“Collaborating with the Ben & Jerry’s team to build the next generation of electric scoop trucks has been an incredible experience. It’s one of those projects that just makes the team smile,” said Brian Gase, Rivian’s Senior Director of Prototype Development. “We can’t wait for people to stop by for some ice cream and see it in action for the first time during SXSW!”
The Scoop Trucks appear to be the Rivian RCV 500, offering a 161-mile range, and an overall length of 248.5 inches. The electric van also includes a 100 kWh LFP battery pack, and Rivian says it can charge at speeds of up to 100 kW.
“Working with Rivian, an industry leader that is committed to sustainability is an ice cream dream come true,” notes Sean Slattery, Ben & Jerry’s U.S. Integrated Marketing project lead. “Today, Rivian helped Ben & Jerry’s reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in a small way, while making things a little bit cooler… which, as an ice cream company, is extremely difficult to do.”
-->A photo of one of the Rivian Scoop Trucks was also spotted and photographed being hauled in Irvine, California, as was shared on Reddit last week. As one viewer points out, the RCVs include an extra air conditioning unit on top of the van, in order to help keep necessary refrigeration running.
Credit: riceengineer | Reddit
Credit: Rivian
Credit: Rivian
Credit: Rivian
READ MORE ABOUT RIVIAN: Rivian releases its Q4 and full-year 2024 financial results
Along with the Ben & Jerry’s RCV, Rivian is partnering with SXSW on an “Electric Roadhouse” exhibit, which will include panel discussions, demo drives, live music, and even a look at the upcoming R2 line. Rivian is also set to be an official sponsor for the music festival’s Transportation Track event. The Scoop Truck is likely to play a role in the upcoming Rivian event, though the companies have yet to disclose where exactly it can be seen this weekend.
In December, Rivian announced that it has deployed 20,000 of the Electric Delivery Vans (EDVs), which are the Amazon-exclusive launch version of the RCVs. Produced alongside the R1T and R1S at the company’s factory in Normal, Illinois, the vans come in two configurations, the RCV 500 and the longer RCV 700, which are both currently being offered for fleet sales.
Rivian is also aiming to build a factory in Georgia with help from a $6.6 billion loan from the Department of Energy (DOE), though these plans are up in the air under the Trump administration’s recent freeze on federal grants and loans. CEO RJ Scaringe in January said that the automaker has already signed a “legally binding agreement” with the DOE, featuring a broad range of conditions that Rivian must meet along the way.
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News
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
The refreshed Tesla Model 3 has won the DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year 2025 award in the Passenger Car category, beating all traditional and electric rivals.
Judges praised the all-electric sedan’s driving dynamics, value-packed EV tech, and the game-changing addition of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) that went live in New Zealand this September.
Why the Model 3 clinched the crown
DRIVEN admitted they were late to the “Highland” party because the updated sedan arrived in New Zealand as a 2024 model, just before the new Model Y stole the headlines. Yet two things forced a re-evaluation this year.
First, experiencing the new Model Y reminded testers how many big upgrades originated in the Model 3, such as the smoother ride, quieter cabin, ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and stalk-less minimalist interior. Second, and far more importantly, Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
FSD changes everything for Kiwi buyers
The publication called the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version “good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money,” but highlighted that FSD elevates it into another league. “Make no mistake, despite the ‘Supervised’ bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it’s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios,” the review stated.
-->At NZ$11,400, FSD is far from cheap, but Tesla also offers FSD (Supervised) on a $159 monthly subscription, making the tech accessible without the full upfront investment. That’s a game-changer, as it allows users to access the company’s most advanced system without forking over a huge amount of money.
News
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out.
It appears that the Tesla AI team burned the midnight oil, allowing them to release FSD V14.2.1 on Thanksgiving. The update has been reported by Tesla owners with AI4 vehicles, as well as Cybertruck owners.
For the Tesla AI team, at least, it appears that work really does not stop.
FSD V14.2.1
Initial posts about FSD V14.2.1 were shared by Tesla owners on social media platform X. As per the Tesla owners, V14.2.1 appears to be a point update that’s designed to polish the features and capacities that have been available in FSD V14. A look at the release notes for FSD V14.2.1, however, shows that an extra line has been added.
“Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”
Whether this could lead to more drivers being alerted to pay attention to the roads more remains to be seen. This would likely become evident as soon as the first batch of videos from Tesla owners who received V14.21 start sharing their first drive impressions of the update. Despite the update being released on Thanksgiving, it would not be surprising if first impressions videos of FSD V14.2.1 are shared today, just the same.
-->Rapid FSD releases
What is rather interesting and impressive is the fact that FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out. This bodes well for Tesla’s FSD users, especially since CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that the V14.2 series will be for “widespread use.”
FSD V14 has so far received numerous positive reviews from Tesla owners, with numerous drivers noting that the system now drives better than most human drivers because it is cautious, confident, and considerate at the same time. The only question now, really, is if the V14.2 series does make it to the company’s wide FSD fleet, which is still populated by numerous HW3 vehicles.
News
Waymo rider data hints that Tesla’s Cybercab strategy might be the smartest, after all
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota Connected Europe designer Karim Dia Toubajie has highlighted a particular trend that became evident in Waymo’s Q3 2025 occupancy stats. As it turned out, 90% of the trips taken by the driverless taxis carried two or fewer passengers.
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota designer observes a trend
Karim Dia Toubajie, Lead Product Designer (Sustainable Mobility) at Toyota Connected Europe, analyzed Waymo’s latest California Public Utilities Commission filings and posted the results on LinkedIn this week.
“90% of robotaxi trips have 2 or less passengers, so why are we using 5-seater vehicles?” Toubajie asked. He continued: “90% of trips have 2 or less people, 75% of trips have 1 or less people.” He accompanied his comments with a graphic showing Waymo’s occupancy rates, which showed 71% of trips having one passenger, 15% of trips having two passengers, 6% of trips having three passengers, 5% of trips having zero passengers, and only 3% of trips having four passengers.
The data excludes operational trips like depot runs or charging, though Toubajie pointed out that most of the time, Waymo’s massive self-driving taxis are really just transporting 1 or 2 people, at times even no passengers at all. “This means that most of the time, the vehicle being used significantly outweighs the needs of the trip,” the Toyota designer wrote in his post.
-->Cybercab suddenly looks perfectly sized
Toubajie gave a nod to Tesla’s approach. “The Tesla Cybercab announced in 2024, is a 2-seater robotaxi with a 50kWh battery but I still believe this is on the larger side of what’s required for most trips,” he wrote.
With Waymo’s own numbers now proving 90% of demand fits two seats or fewer, the wheel-less, lidar-free Cybercab now looks like the smartest play in the room. The Cybercab is designed to be easy to produce, with CEO Elon Musk commenting that its product line would resemble a consumer electronics factory more than an automotive plant. This means that the Cybercab could saturate the roads quickly once it is deployed.
While the Cybercab will likely take the lion’s share of Tesla’s ride-hailing passengers, the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover would be perfect for the remaining 9% of riders who require larger vehicles. This should be easy to implement for Tesla, as the Model Y and Model 3 are both mass-market vehicles.
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
