Rivian has officially launched the next-generation R1S and R1T, new versions of the company’s flagship electric vehicles.
“We continue to evolve our flagship R1 vehicles,” CEO RJ Scaringe said, “offering quality and performance without compromise. Our revamped R1S and R1T push the technical boundaries further, creating our most capable products to date.”
Rivian aimed to refine and improve performance, design, range, and overall ownership experience with the new R1T and R1S, bringing everything from new drivetrains to new interior aesthetics to the EVs without compromising any of the features that owners loved about the first generation.
Additionally, Rivian is rolling out its new Autonomy Platform, which was developed in-house and utilizes eleven internally developed cameras along with five radars that perform over 250 trillion operations per second.
“For most owners, their R1 Gen 2 will be the most powerful computer that they own,” VP of Autonomy and AI for Rivian, James Philbin, said.
Let’s dive into some of the improvements Rivian has employed:
Performance
Rivian’s next-gen R1 platform now features more power, performance, and range, all stemming from a new drive unit offered in its Tri and Quad-Motor configurations. Dual-Motor has not gone anywhere either, and still offers great performance metrics:
- Dual-Motor Our Dual-Motor delivers incredible all-wheel drive capability along with 665 horsepower and 0–60 mph in as quick as 3.4 seconds for the Performance variant
- Tri-Motor Our all-new 850 horsepower Tri-Motor packs two motors in the rear and one in front for a blend of exceptional power and range. The Tri-Motor R1T delivers 0–60 mph in 2.9 seconds while offering an estimated range of 380 miles. In Conserve Mode, the estimated range is up to 410 miles.
- Quad-Motor For peak adventure, our new 1,025 horsepower Quad-Motor delivers 0–60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds in R1T — and ¼ mile in 10.5 seconds — with a staggering 1,198 lb-ft of torque when using Launch Mode. 60–80 mph acceleration is 1.5 seconds, with incredible torque control at each wheel for superior on-road performance and off-road capability.
Ride and Handling
Rivian also focused on the ride and handling experience in the R1 lineup for this second-generation vehicle launch. The suspension system has been fully re-engineered, improving on what customers called a “sport-tuned feel” in the first-generation EVs. Rivian decided to go with a “smoother” ride for the new R1T and R1S, which is adjustable to ensure comfortable on and off-road capabilities.
Vehicle equipment has also been refined. Rivian developed new wheels and fitted them with new tires, including a redesigned 22″ aerodynamic wheel design and Pirelli-developed tires to increase range.
For Performance, Rivian is going with an Ultra-High-Performance Michelin tire that will be available on the Quad-Motor configurations. Additionally, for a “well-rounded” experience, Goodyear has a 20″ ADV tire that offers “balanced all-around capability with the rolling-resistance of an all-season,” and comes standard.
Range and Batteries
Three battery pack sizes will still be offered by Rivian, but the Max and Large batteries have been completely re-engineered and offer ranges of 420 and 330 miles, respectively, based on estimations. They will continue to use 2170 cylindrical cells, and the pack enclosure features a “large high-pressure de-casting” system to simplify manufacturing and reduce mass.
The new Standard Pack will feature lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry and provide an EPA-estimated 270-mile range.
140 miles of range can be regained in as little as 20 minutes and are compatible with all major public high-speed charging networks. This includes the Rivian Adventure Network and the Tesla Supercharger Network.
Design and Experience
Rivian honed in on new features with the R1T and R1S and also added two new premium interiors, new exterior paint options, and new darkout trim options.
These are in addition to the new wheel and tire choices, and now vehicles come with a new electronically tinted glass roof, new in-cabin storage, interior lighting themes, new digital interfaces, and new cell shading designs for the different drive modes. It has also improved on the wireless charger.
Surround Sound Audio with Dolby Atmos is available with Rivian Premium Audio.
Refined Electrical Architecture and Compute Platform
The second-gen R1 features new electrical architecture and a new compute platform that was developed in-house by the Rivian hardware and software teams.
“While the exterior of the R1 looks similar, the electrical system is completely redone, providing a significant increase in features as well as a dramatic increase in sensing and compute capability,” Rivian’s SVP of Electrical Hardware, Vidya Rajagopalan, said.
Trimming the ECU count from 17 in the first-gen to just 7 in the second-gen, the “massive simplification” was part of a shift in zonal architecture. Infotainment, autonomy, and vehicle access, as well as battery management, all have their own ECUs. Every other vehicle function is controlled by the remaining three.
Rivian Autonomy Platform
The Rivian Autonomy Platform utilizes “11 internally developed cameras and five radars performing over 250 trillion operations per second, an industry-leading level of compute power.”
The cameras are high-resolution and now include 4K HDR units, which have 360-degree visibility and can see three-times farther than the previous system, as well as 10 seconds ahead at highway speeds.
These are the most camera megapixels of any EV in North America and enable improved dynamic range and clear vision in high-contrast scenarios, like tunnel entrances and exits.
Rivian is also utilizing a cabin-facing camera in the rearview mirror to detect both driver fatigue and distraction when operating in Enhance Highway Assist mode, which will roll out later this year.
The Autonomy Compute Module is backed up by dual NVIDIA DRIVE Orin processors, delivering 10 times more compute performance than the previous system.
Pricing
The new R1S will start at $75,900 and the R1T at $69,900. Dual-Motor configurations can be ordered today and are available immediately. Tri-Max is expected to be launched in the late Summer, while Quad Max will come shortly after.
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News
Tesla seen as early winner as Canada reopens door to China-made EVs
Tesla had already prepared for Chinese exports to Canada in 2023 by equipping its Shanghai Gigafactory to produce a Canada-specific version of the Model Y.
Tesla seems poised to be an early beneficiary of Canada’s decision to reopen imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles, following the removal of a 100% tariff that halted shipments last year.
Thanks to Giga Shanghai’s capability to produce Canadian-spec vehicles, it might only be a matter of time before Tesla is able to export vehicles to Canada from China once more.
Under the new U.S.–Canada trade agreement, Canada will allow up to 49,000 vehicles per year to be imported from China at a 6.1% tariff, with the quota potentially rising to 70,000 units within five years, according to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Half of the initial quota is reserved for vehicles priced under CAD 35,000, a threshold above current Tesla models, though the electric vehicle maker could still benefit from the rule change, as noted in a Reuters report.
Tesla had already prepared for Chinese exports to Canada in 2023 by equipping its Shanghai Gigafactory to produce a Canada-specific version of the Model Y. That year, Tesla began shipping vehicles from Shanghai to Canada, contributing to a sharp 460% year-over-year increase in China-built vehicle imports through Vancouver.
When Ottawa imposed a 100% tariff in 2024, however, Tesla halted those shipments and shifted Canadian supply to its U.S. and Berlin factories. With tariffs now reduced, Tesla could quickly resume China-to-Canada exports.
Beyond manufacturing flexibility, Tesla could also benefit from its established retail presence in Canada. The automaker operates 39 stores across Canada, while Chinese brands like BYD and Nio have yet to enter the Canadian market directly. Tesla’s relatively small lineup, which is comprised of four core models plus the Cybertruck, allows it to move faster on marketing and logistics than competitors with broader portfolios.
Elon Musk
Tesla confirms that work on Dojo 3 has officially resumed
“Now that the AI5 chip design is in good shape, Tesla will restart work on Dojo 3,” Elon Musk wrote in a post on X.
Tesla has restarted work on its Dojo 3 initiative, its in-house AI training supercomputer, now that its AI5 chip design has reached a stable stage.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed the update in a recent post on X.
Tesla’s Dojo 3 initiative restarted
In a post on X, Musk said that with the AI5 chip design now “in good shape,” Tesla will resume work on Dojo 3. He added that Tesla is hiring engineers interested in working on what he expects will become the highest-volume AI chips in the world.
“Now that the AI5 chip design is in good shape, Tesla will restart work on Dojo3. If you’re interested in working on what will be the highest volume chips in the world, send a note to AI_Chips@Tesla.com with 3 bullet points on the toughest technical problems you’ve solved,” Musk wrote in his post on X.
Musk’s comment followed a series of recent posts outlining Tesla’s broader AI chip roadmap. In another update, he stated that Tesla’s AI4 chip alone would achieve self-driving safety levels well above human drivers, AI5 would make vehicles “almost perfect” while significantly enhancing Optimus, and AI6 would be focused on Optimus and data center applications.
Musk then highlighted that AI7/Dojo 3 will be designed to support space-based AI compute.
Tesla’s AI roadmap
Musk’s latest comments helped resolve some confusion that emerged last year about Project Dojo’s future. At the time, Musk stated on X that Tesla was stepping back from Dojo because it did not make sense to split resources across multiple AI chip architectures.
He suggested that clustering large numbers of Tesla AI5 and AI6 chips for training could effectively serve the same purpose as a dedicated Dojo successor. “In a supercomputer cluster, it would make sense to put many AI5/AI6 chips on a board, whether for inference or training, simply to reduce network cabling complexity & cost by a few orders of magnitude,” Musk wrote at the time.
Musk later reinforced that idea by responding positively to an X post stating that Tesla’s AI6 chip would effectively be the new Dojo. Considering his recent updates on X, however, it appears that Tesla will be using AI7, not AI6, as its dedicated Dojo successor. The CEO did state that Tesla’s AI7, AI8, and AI9 chips will be developed in short, nine-month cycles, so Dojo’s deployment might actually be sooner than expected.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI brings 1GW Colossus 2 AI training cluster online
Elon Musk shared his update in a recent post on social media platform X.
xAI has brought its Colossus 2 supercomputer online, making it the first gigawatt-scale AI training cluster in the world, and it’s about to get even bigger in a few months.
Elon Musk shared his update in a recent post on social media platform X.
Colossus 2 goes live
The Colossus 2 supercomputer, together with its predecessor, Colossus 1, are used by xAI to primarily train and refine the company’s Grok large language model. In a post on X, Musk stated that Colossus 2 is already operational, making it the first gigawatt training cluster in the world.
But what’s even more remarkable is that it would be upgraded to 1.5 GW of power in April. Even in its current iteration, however, the Colossus 2 supercomputer already exceeds the peak demand of San Francisco.
Commentary from users of the social media platform highlighted the speed of execution behind the project. Colossus 1 went from site preparation to full operation in 122 days, while Colossus 2 went live by crossing the 1-GW barrier and is targeting a total capacity of roughly 2 GW. This far exceeds the speed of xAI’s primary rivals.
Funding fuels rapid expansion
xAI’s Colossus 2 launch follows xAI’s recently closed, upsized $20 billion Series E funding round, which exceeded its initial $15 billion target. The company said the capital will be used to accelerate infrastructure scaling and AI product development.
The round attracted a broad group of investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX, and Baron Capital Group. Strategic partners NVIDIA and Cisco also continued their support, helping xAI build what it describes as the world’s largest GPU clusters.
xAI said the funding will accelerate its infrastructure buildout, enable rapid deployment of AI products to billions of users, and support research tied to its mission of understanding the universe. The company noted that its Colossus 1 and 2 systems now represent more than one million H100 GPU equivalents, alongside recent releases including the Grok 4 series, Grok Voice, and Grok Imagine. Training is also already underway for its next flagship model, Grok 5.
Tesla seen as early winner as Canada reopens door to China-made EVs
Tesla confirms that work on Dojo 3 has officially resumed
