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Rivian patent application hints at 900V fast charging capabilities

The Rivian R1T. | Image: Dacia J. Ferris/Teslarati

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A recently published Rivian patent application titled “Configurable Battery Pack for Fast Charge” describes a method of switching between battery pack connection types to allow for both 450V and 900V fast charging without the need for specialized components. The invention was filed in both the US and internationally, and both applications just published today as US Patent Publication No. 2019/0126761 A1 and International Publication No. WO/2019/084507 A1.

Rivian’s application sets out to solve three specific issues with electric vehicle battery charging. First, increases in charging rates typically require more expensive parts that are rated for the higher current requirements. Second, electronic devices operated while a battery is charging may be impacted via increased voltage when a battery’s charging rate is increased. Finally, when a fault occurs in a battery module, a battery system often needs to be completely disconnected from any loads or the charging voltage must be changed.

The basic concept of the application purports to solve the above-referenced problems. As described, the invention claims that battery modules connected in parallel achieve a targeted maximum high voltage for an electric load (such as 450V), but when connected in series that voltage can be doubled (900V). Details of why this is advantageous are explained in the application as follows:

A configurable battery system allows the techniques of [this invention] to be applied to an electric vehicle…to more fully utilize a battery charger’s potential [where] it is desirable to achieve a particular charging target. For example, a charging target of 150 kW at 450 V may require a current of 334 A…[and] components may need to be sourced to handle up to 400 A continuously to handle the charging….If a battery system were able to take advantage of charging at 900 V, the charging target of 150 kW could be achieved at just 167 A, which may allow for more numerous, better quality, or cheaper options for charging components. For example, a current of 167 A may allow different hardware to be used than if the current were nearer to 400 A.

The application also includes a battery management system to determine which connection should be used at a given point and switch the connection type accordingly. This same management system is also used to detect faults in the system while charging and use the switching capability to handle them accordingly rather than disconnecting any battery loads.

The US application for this invention was filed June 8, 2018 and thus has not yet been examined. However, in the international version, an examiner has already searched for related inventions based on the first 10 claims of Rivian’s application. These claims only describe “a configurable battery system in which connection of two batteries can be switched between a series and a parallel connection”, which is not considered novel on its own.

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This kind of finding is not uncommon for applications undergoing the international filing process and will be further addressed once filed in specific countries. Three other inventions were determined to be present in the application which will likely be incorporated with the first ten as the invention’s proceedings continue.

Rivian Battery Lab Pack Assembly | Image: Rivian

Rivian aims to be the leading expert on battery technology, and patent applications such as this one are a nod towards that innovation goal. The Michigan-based all-electric car maker runs a battery lab in Irvine, California where it has picked up several engineers from renowned supercar brand McLaren. This talent pool includes hypercar engineer Richard Farquhar who is their VP of Propulsion, leading Rivian’s battery and powertrain development.

Currently, each Rivian battery module holds 864 cells, stacked evenly on top of one another, with a thin 7mm aluminum plate with liquid coolant in between. In addition to connection testing, the company uses machine learning to adjust battery cell settings to build predictive models and tune the cells based on situations that may be encountered, such as weather conditions.

Altogether, Rivian’s aim to achieve a level of battery technology that’s reliable and optimal for the electric outdoor adventure branding it has embraced looks to be moving in a promising direction.

Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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Tesla Cybercabs narrowly miss deadly Amazon cargo plane crash

An Amazon cargo plane crash near Miami’s airport stopped feet from dozens of Tesla Cybercabs.

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Photorealistic depiction of the Amazon Prime plane crash in Miami on Sep 3, 2026 near a fleet of Tesla Cybercab
Photorealistic depiction of the Amazon Prime plane crash in Miami on Sep 3, 2026 near a fleet of Tesla Cybercab

An Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 cargo jet overran the runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon, killing five people and injuring five more. The jet, operated by North Carolina based carrier 21 Air as Flight 7598, touched down around 2 p.m. after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, then crossed the airport perimeter, plowed across NW 67th Avenue and struck multiple vehicles before catching fire, according to the Associated Press.

Photos and video from the scene show the aircraft’s nose stopped within meters of a fenced staging lot holding dozens of gold painted Tesla Cybercabs, the steering wheel free robotaxi Tesla began putting on public roads in Austin last week. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has confirmed the plane struck “multiple vehicles” but has not said whether any Cybercabs were among them, and neither Tesla nor airport officials have addressed the fleet directly.

The Cybercabs had not yet entered commercial service in Miami. Tesla’s existing Robotaxi operation there runs on modified Model Y vehicles and has been unsupervised since Ashok Elluswamy confirmed the detail on X in July.


Elon Musk offered the briefest of reactions. Replying to a Zero Hedge post about the Cybercabs sitting so close to the wreckage, he wrote a single word: “Weird.” He has not commented further, and Tesla has not issued a statement.

The timing puts Tesla’s newest vehicle near an unrelated but highly visible tragedy just days after its Austin debut, a launch that had already drawn scrutiny from federal regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an audit how Tesla certified the Cybercab as compliant with federal vehicle safety standards, a process Teslarati covered after the vehicle’s September 3 launch event. That inquiry concerns the car’s lack of a steering wheel and pedals, not the Miami crash.

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Investigators from the FAA and NTSB are focused on the plane, not the parking lot beside it. Flight data reviewed by outlets including Simple Flying show the 767 touched down around 170 knots, well above the 135 to 140 knot range typical for the aircraft, though investigators have not determined a cause. Amazon said it is working with authorities and that its priority is the safety of everyone affected.

Whether any Cybercabs were damaged, and what Tesla plans for the fleet parked near one of the country’s busiest airports, remain open questions.

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Tesla crosses major Unsupervised Self-Driving milestone

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has reached a notable benchmark in its autonomous driving program after its Robotaxi fleet surpassed one million miles of unsupervised operation. The company made the announcement during its Cybercab event in Austin on September 3.

Tesla Vice President of AI Ashok Elluswamy told attendees he was happy to report the fleet had achieved one million miles of unsupervised Robotaxi operation as a testament to safety.

The new total marked a sharp increase from the 380,000 unsupervised miles Tesla disclosed during its second-quarter 2026 earnings update in late July.

In roughly six weeks, the company added about 620,000 miles. That acceleration followed Tesla’s decision to remove in-vehicle safety monitors from most of its operations outside the San Francisco Bay Area.

Credit: Tesla

Tesla first launched Robotaxi service in Austin in June 2025 with safety drivers present. It later began fully unsupervised rides and expanded into Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. The San Francisco Bay Area remains the exception, where a safety monitor still rides in the vehicle under California permitting rules.

The company has not released a city-by-city breakdown of the one million unsupervised miles.

The milestone arrived as Tesla began offering public Cybercab rides in Austin. The purpose-built vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals and is designed only for autonomous ride-hailing. Production versions joined the existing fleet of modified Tesla vehicles already operating in the service.

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Tesla’s unsupervised mileage is growing at a double-digit weekly rate according to earlier company comments, yet its fleet size remains modest compared with established competitors. Waymo has accumulated more than 200 million fully autonomous rider-only miles. Tesla has described its own unsupervised operations as having recorded zero notable incidents in the period leading up to the July update.

The one-million-mile figure reflects Tesla’s shift from supervised testing to broader driverless service in multiple states. It also highlights the company’s strategy of using both existing Model Y vehicles and the new Cybercab to scale its network.

Credit: Tesla

Whether the rapid recent growth continues will depend on further city expansions, regulatory approvals, and the performance of the purpose-built Cybercab in everyday paid rides. Tesla has not specified how many of the latest miles involved the new vehicle versus the rest of the fleet.

The announcement underscores Tesla’s progress toward a larger robotaxi network while illustrating the remaining gap in total autonomous experience relative to longer-operating rivals.

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Tesla Robotaxi will be a 24/7 service: here’s when

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Credit: @AdanGuajardo/X

Tesla AI lead Ashok Elluswamy said this week that 24-hour Robotaxi service is close. Replying on X to a rider who wanted Cybercab trips all night, he wrote that the capability would arrive “next month or so” once “the next tech to merge on the v15 plan” is ready.

The comment landed on September 4, one day after Tesla opened public Cybercab rides in Austin. It is the clearest near-term timeline yet for overnight unsupervised operation. Tesla’s paid Robotaxi network currently runs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week across Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa.

That 16-hour window is shorter than the 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. schedule the company used for much of the prior year.

Elluswamy did not name the specific feature or say whether the change would apply first to purpose-built Cybercabs, the existing Model Y fleet, or both. He also offered no city-by-city rollout list. The link to Full Self-Driving v15 is nevertheless significant.

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Tesla has described v15 as a step-change architecture with seven parallel improvement tracks and roughly ten times more parameters than earlier builds. Early versions of that software already operate on the Robotaxi fleet and contain about 40 percent of the planned gains.

By July 2026, the unsupervised fleet had logged more than 380,000 miles across six cities in two states with what the company called an impeccable safety record and no notable incidents caused by the vehicles themselves. Tesla has repeatedly argued that camera-based end-to-end neural networks, rather than extra sensors, are the core of the solution.

Overnight service would test that claim in lower-light conditions and would also raise vehicle utilization, a key variable for Robotaxi unit economics. The company has already begun using public Superchargers at night and is building dedicated Robotaxi charging sites.

Riders have asked why software must change if the cars already drive in the dark. The practical answer appears to be reliability and scale: Tesla has held back mass expansion until more of the v15 stack is merged, citing the need for higher confidence before putting thousands of unoccupied vehicles on streets around the clock.

If the next module arrives on the timetable Elluswamy sketched, 24-hour service could begin in October 2026 in at least some markets.

That would mark a shift from a daytime-bounded pilot to a service that can run whenever demand exists, including the late-night hours that have so far remained out of reach.

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