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Rivian R1T trucks spotted in Argentina for EV adventure travel show: report
Getting a glimpse of any Rivian vehicle outside their show models is pretty rare, and even then it’s usually just a test mule with another manufacturer’s body wrap. However, Rivian fans are in for a treat this week as two additional R1T all-electric trucks were spotted in Ushuaia, Argentina.
The white-bodied pickup models recently arrived in the country and are reportedly going to be part of an adventure travel show starring Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Previous projects by the duo involved trekking through various locations around the world on motorcycles, one titled Long Way Round, the other Long Way Down. This newest show will be called Long Way Up and involves electric motorcycles, specifically the Harley-Davidson LiveWire, and it will document McGregor and Boorman traveling from Argentina through Los Angeles, according to Argentinian publication Autoblog. The trip will possibly go as far as Alaska, depending on various factors.
- (Image: Juan Guillermo Bauer/Instagram)
- (Image: Juan Guillermo Bauer/Instagram)
- (Image: Juan Guillermo Bauer/Instagram)
- (Image: Juan Guillermo Bauer/Instagram)
Rivian R1T pickup trucks spotted in Argentina. (Credit: Juan Guillermo/Instagram)
A few new R1T features seen were noted by RivianForums user jimcgov3 who posted images of the truck originally from Juan Guillermo Bauer’s Instagram side-by-side with Rivian’s images. First, the two models seen in Argentina appear to be prototype models vs. the show models specifically described as what the R1T will look like in final production by various Rivian team members. The one photo showing the inside of the truck’s cabin has generic buttons throughout both the steering wheel and the center console. Next, the charge port on the vehicle is on the driver’s side after being on the passenger’s side in Rivian’s concept images. Tow hooks have also been added to the front bumper, and the “Black Mountain” interior coloring seems to be appearing for the first time. Finally, an R1T tailgate logo looks to have made its debut for the long trip.
Dos pick-ups Rivian RT1 (100% eléctricas) llegaron a Ushuaia para poner en marcha una travesía por toda América.
Nota, fotos y videos acá: https://t.co/jB1yZAizQw@Rivian pic.twitter.com/qVFeSGRJM1— Motor1.com Argentina (@Motor1argentina) August 31, 2019
- (Image: Autoblog Argentina)
- (Image: Autoblog Argentina)
- (Image: Autoblog Argentina)
- (Image: Autoblog Argentina)
- (Image: Autoblog Argentina)
- (Image: Autoblog Argentina)
Rivian R1T pickup trucks spotted in Argentina. (Credit: Autoblog Argentina)
A video posted by Autoblog of the R1T trucks arriving in Ushuaia had a bit of a Jurassic Park-style feel to it, tying well with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s prior references to self-driving ‘Jurassic Park’ tours with their vehicles, although the lack of velociraptors in the shipments ties for both cool and uncool. It does appear that a gas-powered caravan will be following the show, but a Ford F-150 Raptor isn’t part of the crew. For the record, an F-350 will be tagging along for support as well as a few vans. Filming is said to begin next week.
As Rivian gears up for full production, a few features of the upcoming R1T have been teased as has factory progress. In July, the company’s official Twitter account touted its manufacturing progress with photos of several stamped metal frames for the truck hanging on racks inside one of their facilities. “Busy making metal!” the company posted as a caption alongside three images. Also revealed in the photos was Rivian’s logo stamped on the parts, a nod to their attention to detail.
Earlier this month, the company’s Twitter account also revealed several roof options that would be available for the R1T. “We will offer multiple roof styles including electrochromic glass (which turns from opaque to transparent on demand), a fixed glass panel, a two-piece removable composite roof and a standard fixed roof,” the company replied in response to a related question. The electrochromic roofs on the current demo R1T and R1S are controlled from the main infotainment screen, as has been shown by Rivian team members during trade and auto show appearances.
News
Tesla faces Full Self-Driving pushback in EU over ‘speeding’
A new report from Reuters claims that a transport authority in Sweden is pushing back against the approval of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite because it will travel over speed limits.
The report says the Swedish Transport Administration (TRV) recommends the European Union votes against FSD’s approval. TRV believes it should not be approved until Tesla disables FSD’s ability to speed.
TRV sent a letter to the European Union’s Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV), which is set to meet on June 30 to discuss the potential approval of the Tesla FSD suite in the country. Tesla, which has received various approvals in Europe over the past two months, has not provided a comment.
Teslas operating on FSD do travel over the speed limit, depending on the Speed Profile that is chosen. Drivers have the ability to disengage FSD at any point; Tesla specifically states that those supervising the suite are responsible for its actions.
Let’s cut to the chase: humans operating any vehicle speed almost daily in the United States. Realistically, speed limits in the U.S. are more frequently treated as speed minimums. However, other countries are different, and driving behaviors are less aggressive.
TRV believes that “allowing automated systems to systematically exceed legal speed limits…risks undermining both the legal framework and the expected safety benefits of vehicle automation,” the report stated. It’s surprising that Tesla has not received this claim from other countries previously.
This could be a good argument to bring Max Speed back, the setting that previously allowed the driver to choose the absolute fastest the car would travel.
This would still put the responsibility of supervision in the hands of the driver. It would allow the driver to choose whether the car would travel over the speed limit or not, acknowledging that they set the speed, and if they get pulled over, there would be no ability to argue it.
However, it does not seem as if this is something Tesla will do, especially considering many U.S. drivers have requested the feature in an effort to eliminate speeding or at least tone it down. The company has not shown any interest in bringing it back.
Tesla has approvals for FSD in Europe in Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Elon Musk
Tesla teases greater Grok FSD integration and ‘Banish’ feature ‘in about 3 months’
Tesla is going to let you guide Full Self-Driving with Grok in 3 months, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X.
The response from Musk, which revealed Tesla plans to allow drivers to effectively control the car and its navigation more explicitly using Grok, puts the feature for about September.
A Tesla owner said that Full Self-Driving is great, but owners should be able to “converse with Grok like we can with an Uber driver.” She then used examples like, “Grok, turn right here,” and “Drop us off right here, we’ll walk due to traffic,” and finally,” Drop at entrance first, then park far away.”
Coincidentally, the final piece of dialogue would also mean features like Banish are potentially on the way soon.
This functionality will be there in about 3 months or so
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 18, 2026
Banish is also referred to as “Reverse Summon,” and would enable the car to self-park while dropping occupants off at their destination.
This would be a great way to improve the overall experience while supervising FSD. Navigation is already a major painpoint that many owners complain about. Manual overrides when a maneuver is requested or canceled (like using the turn signal stalk to override a navigation route), do not always work.
The feature could be especially useful in street parking scenarios in a city, where spots are sometimes tough to come by. Many of us who grab dinner in a more populated area will park a street or two over from wherever we’re going, because sometimes you know that’s the best you will get. If a driver using FSD could say, “Hey Grok, turn right here on Queen St. and park in that open spot on the right,” it could save a lot of confusion FSD might have on its own.
Musk teased that a similar feature was “coming” back in February:
Tesla Full Self-Driving set to get an awesome new feature, Elon Musk says
It is certainly surprising that Tesla is doing it at this point. The company’s more recent moves have been more evident of taking control and inputs away from humans and putting them in the AI’s hands more frequently. The biggest example of this was taking away Max Speed in AI4 cars, giving us Speed Profiles, and not having any input on the fastest speed the car will travel.
Of course, giving navigation preferences to Grok is availble already in Teslas, but not at the drop of a hat. Instead, you can suggest a certain route at the beginning of your drive.
Here’s an example of that from December:
🚨🏈 I am taking my parents and Fiancee to the @Ravens game next weekend and asked @Grok to help me route my @Tesla through a specific neighborhood to reach the correct Lot we will park in.
This is a great example of the new @grok nav integration with the Tesla Holiday Update: pic.twitter.com/rPp4I7q8Yv
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 13, 2025
Finally, the original post that Musk responded to mentioned a parking preference after dropping off the occupants, which describes the Banish feature that Tesla has teased for years.
We’re not sure if Musk was responding more to the ability to guide the car with Grok, or whether he also was including Banish in the three-month prediction timeframe.
News
Tesla Cybercab has one important piece that AI4 cars might need for FSD
A close-up image of a Cybercab engineering vehicle in Peabody, Massachusetts, reveals a compact triangular side repeater camera housing equipped with an integrated washer mechanism.
This seemingly small hardware addition could prove to be one of the most critical components for achieving reliable, unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) — not just for the dedicated Robotaxi but potentially for existing AI4-equipped vehicles as well.
The washer system’s importance cannot be overstated in Tesla’s vision-only autonomy approach. Cameras are the sole sensory input for the neural networks powering FSD, constantly interpreting the environment for safe navigation. In real-world conditions, however, lenses quickly accumulate rain, snow, mud, dust, or road spray.
Many of us Tesla owners, especially those who deal with any sort of winter weather at all, know the all-too-common alert that pops up when cameras are obstructed:
Even brief obstructions can drop perception confidence, trigger safety disengagements, or force the vehicle to pull over, although these are relatively rare. Instead, most of the time, the camera will need a wipe from the owner next time they stop the car.
But unlike human drivers who can manually clear their view, a Robotaxi operating 24/7 without a steering wheel or mirrors must maintain pristine vision autonomously. The Cybercab’s side repeater washer delivers targeted cleaning bursts precisely where needed for merging, lane changes, and blind-spot monitoring — functions that demand uninterrupted visibility from the external cameras:
And this is how the side camera and washer look like on a Cybercab. This is from an Engineering vehicle in Peabody MA. pic.twitter.com/Re8VknpmLM
— Tobias Goebel (Unsupervised) (@tpgoebel) June 17, 2026
This hardware directly tackles a known pain point in current FSD deployments. Owners frequently report camera-related alerts during inclement weather, which is understandable, but needs to be solved for a true autonomous experience.
For a production Robotaxi fleet aiming for high utilization and minimal downtime, robust washer systems represent a foundational reliability upgrade; essentially, they’re a must-have. Early sightings suggest the design may extend to rear cameras as well, creating a comprehensive cleaning architecture that keeps the entire vision suite operational in harsh environments.
Without it, even the most advanced neural nets struggle when their “eyes” are compromised.
What Does This Mean for AI4 Cars?
This Cybercab detail raises timely questions for AI4 cars already on the road. While Hardware 4 delivers superior compute and camera resolution compared to earlier versions, production models typically lack dedicated side and rear washers. Tesla has included them on Model Y robotaxis that it is using in the fleet:
Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature not available on typical Model Ys
As Tesla refines unsupervised FSD for broader release, the gap in environmental resilience becomes evident. Software improvements can help mitigate issues, but they cannot fully replace physical cleaning in heavy rain or muddy conditions. Analysts and owners increasingly speculate that AI4 vehicles may eventually require similar washer retrofits — or a future AI4.5 variant — to match the Cybercab’s all-weather readiness and support the same level of autonomy.
As testing progresses, the Cybercab’s washer mechanism highlights Tesla’s pragmatic focus on real-world robustness. It may well become the hardware piece that determines how quickly and reliably FSD scales from prototypes to everyday vehicles.









