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Rivian gets a surprise visit from Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen
Rivian captured the attention of the automotive world when it debuted its quad-motor R1T all-electric pickup truck and R1S SUV in Los Angeles this week, including the attention of none other than Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen.
Teslarati spotted the veteran automobile designer, and chief designer to the Tesla Model S, Model X, and Model 3, paying a surprise visit to Rivian’s LA Autoshow booth one day before the event is set to open its doors to the general public. Tesla also has a booth this year at the auto show where the company is showcasing its solar roof tiles, energy products, and its fleet of electric vehicles.
While Tesla executives including CEO Elon Musk have yet to make any public comments about Rivian’s launch, Von Holzhausen’s presence at their LA Autoshow booth and his visible interest in the R1S SUV can be interpreted as a sign that Tesla is taking the Michigan-based electric car startup seriously.
Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen checks out Rivian’s new R1S SUV. (Photo: Teslarati)
Rivian’s R1S design was led by Jeff Hammoud, who joined Rivian in May of 2017 as VP of Vehicle Design. Hammoud previously spent 13 years at Fiat Chrysler, where he was Chief of Design for the Jeep division. His most notable design during his tenure with Jeep was the Jeep Grand Cherokee. In addition to recruiting Hammoud from Jeep, Rivian also brought on Nick Malachowski as Director of Advanced Design.
“The R1T and R1S designs communicate strength and refinement while still inviting customers to get the vehicles dirty. Strong proportions and clean, continuous bodylines help achieve a modern, inviting stance while acknowledging the performance and level of technology integrated into the vehicles,” Rivian stated in a press release.
Details of the Rivian R1T and the Rivian R1S. (Credit: Christian Prenzler/Teslarati)
Although the design language between Tesla and Rivian may differ, Hammoud and Von Holzhausen both share in their passion to build and create something that would ordinarily just be a dream. And do so while being unbounded.
“The chance to be part of something like this from the ground up is the kind of opportunity you dream about,” Jeff Hammoud stated in a Rivian blog post.
“I’m looking forward to working at a new startup company that doesn’t have the confines of a large OEM,” Von Holzhausen told Car Design News when he joined Tesla in 2008.
Rivian’s R1S will go into production in the second half of 2020 and starts at $72,500. The R1S’s range is configurable between three battery pack variants: 105 kWh, 135 kWh, and 180 kWh, each providing 240, 310, and 410+ miles, respectively.
In addition to checking out Rivian’s SUV, Von Holzhausen also looked at Rivian’s R1T pickup truck that was also at the company booth. Rivian’s R1T is the first production electric truck to be revealed. Tesla is currently designing and developing their own electric pickup truck but has yet to disclose any information about its design, size, or pricing.
RELATED: Rivian R1T and R1S: Top 10 hidden features that make an electric off-road vehicle
The starting price for Rivian’s R1T begins at $69,000 and has the same battery pack configurations as the R1S. The company is expecting to produce roughly 50,000 of the R1T and R1S in their manufacturing plant in Normal, IL. Rivian has started to take preorders for both their vehicles with a $1,000 deposit.
Update: A spelling correction has been made to Rivian’s VP of Design, Jeff Hammoud.
Tesla made a dramatic change to the Online Design Studio to show its plans for Full Self-Driving, a major part of the company’s plans moving forward, as CEO Elon Musk has been extremely clear on the direction moving forward.
With Tesla taking a stand and removing the ability to purchase Full Self-Driving outright next month, it is already taking steps to initiate that with owners and potential buyers.
On Thursday night, the company updated its Online Design Studio to reflect that in a new move that now lists the three purchase options that are currently available: Monthly Subscription, One-Time Purchase, or Add Later:
🚨 Check out the change Tesla made to its Online Design Studio:
It now lists the Monthly Subscription as an option for Full Self-Driving
It also shows the outright purchase option as expiring on February 14 pic.twitter.com/pM6Svmyy8d
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
This change replaces the former option for purchasing Full Self-Driving at the time of purchase, which was a simple and single box to purchase the suite outright. Subscriptions were activated through the vehicle exclusively.
However, with Musk announcing that Tesla would soon remove the outright purchase option, it is clearer than ever that the Subscription plan is where the company is headed.
The removal of the outright purchase option has been a polarizing topic among the Tesla community, especially considering that there are many people who are concerned about potential price increases or have been saving to purchase it for $8,000.
This would bring an end to the ability to pay for it once and never have to pay for it again. With the Subscription strategy, things are definitely going to change, and if people are paying for their cars monthly, it will essentially add $100 per month to their payment, pricing some people out. The price will increase as well, as Musk said on Thursday, as it improves in functionality.
I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve.
The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD). https://t.co/YDKhXN3aaG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, 2026
Those skeptics have grown concerned that this will actually lower the take rate of Full Self-Driving. While it is understandable that FSD would increase in price as the capabilities improve, there are arguments for a tiered system that would allow owners to pay for features that they appreciate and can afford, which would help with data accumulation for the company.
Musk’s new compensation package also would require Tesla to have 10 million active FSD subscriptions, but people are not sure if this will move the needle in the correct direction. If Tesla can potentially offer a cheaper alternative that is not quite unsupervised, things could improve in terms of the number of owners who pay for it.
News
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end with no interventions.
A Tesla Model S has completed the first-ever full Cannonball Run using Full Self-Driving (FSD), traveling from Los Angeles to New York with zero interventions. The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end, fulfilling a long-discussed benchmark for autonomy.
A full FSD Cannonball Run
As per a report from The Drive, a 2024 Tesla Model S with AI4 and FSD v14.2.2.3 completed the 3,081-mile trip from Redondo Beach in Los Angeles to midtown Manhattan in New York City. The drive was completed by Alex Roy, a former automotive journalist and investor, along with a small team of autonomy experts.
Roy said FSD handled all driving tasks for the entirety of the route, including highway cruising, lane changes, navigation, and adverse weather conditions. The trip took a total of 58 hours and 22 minutes at an average speed of 64 mph, and about 10 hours were spent charging the vehicle. In later comments, Roy noted that he and his team cleaned out the Model S’ cameras during their stops to keep FSD’s performance optimal.
History made
The historic trip was quite impressive, considering that the journey was in the middle of winter. This meant that FSD didn’t just deal with other cars on the road. The vehicle also had to handle extreme cold, snow, ice, slush, and rain.
As per Roy in a post on X, FSD performed so well during the trip that the journey would have been completed faster if the Model S did not have people onboard. “Elon Musk was right. Once an autonomous vehicle is mature, most human input is error. A comedy of human errors added hours and hundreds of miles, but FSD stunned us with its consistent and comfortable behavior,” Roy wrote in a post on X.
Roy’s comments are quite notable as he has previously attempted Cannonball Runs using FSD on December 2024 and February 2025. Neither were zero intervention drives.
Elon Musk
Tesla removes Autopilot as standard, receives criticism online
The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders.
Tesla removed its basic Autopilot package as a standard feature in the United States. The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders, and shifts the company’s strategy towards paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
Tesla removes Autopilot
As per observations from the electric vehicle community on social media, Tesla no longer lists Autopilot as standard in its vehicles in the U.S. This suggests that features such as lane-centering and Autosteer have been removed as standard equipment. Previously, most Tesla vehicles came with Autopilot by default, which offers Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer.
The change resulted in backlash from some Tesla owners and EV observers, particularly as competing automakers, including mainstream players like Toyota, offer features like lane-centering as standard on many models, including budget vehicles.
That being said, the removal of Autopilot suggests that Tesla is concentrating its autonomy roadmap around FSD subscriptions rather than bundled driver-assistance features. It would be interesting to see how Tesla manages its vehicles’ standard safety features, as it seems out of character for Tesla to make its cars less safe over time.
Musk announces FSD price increases
Following the Autopilot changes, Elon Musk stated on X that Tesla is planning to raise subscription prices for FSD as its capabilities improve. In a post on X, Musk stated that the current $99-per-month price for supervised FSD would increase over time, especially as the system itself becomes more robust.
“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (Unsupervised FSD),” Musk wrote.
At the time of his recent post, Tesla still offers FSD as a one-time purchase for $8,000, but Elon Musk has confirmed that this option will be discontinued on February 14, leaving subscriptions as the only way to access the system.
Tesla makes big Full Self-Driving change to reflect future plans
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
