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Rivian R1T trucks spotted in Argentina for EV adventure travel show: report

(Image: Autoblog Argentina)

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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.

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.

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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.

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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Cybertruck

Tesla is ending Cybertruck production

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Credit: diagnosticdennis/Instagram and @smile__no via Tesla Owners of Santa Clarita Valley/X

Tesla is ending Cybertruck production sometime in mid-2027, according to CEO Elon Musk.

Musk made the announcement on X last night, which came as a shock to many. He said that the Cybertruck will end production “to make room for increased Cybercab production” at Gigafactory Texas.

It is a huge blow to the fans of Tesla who have come to love the Cybertruck and identify with it as a symbol of their fandom. It has been the best-selling electric pickup, but it has had an underwhelming sales performance in terms of what was expected. This is mostly due to Tesla not meeting the prices it planned to offer the Cybertruck, as its unveiling and actual release were four years apart.

Overall, the responses were mixed. Some fans understood the move toward Cybercab production, especially as Tesla is truly pushing the autonomous future through its Robotaxi platform. However, others did not understand it.

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“Damn, how many Cybercabs do you guys need?” one response read. Another said it was “Sad but understandable.”Even analyst Gary Black had responded to the news, stating he hoped Tesla planned to replace it with a traditional pickup design.

It doesn’t seem like that will be the case.

Tesla is so hell-bent on delivering autonomy and eventually providing a driverless service that owning a car seems like an arbitrary idea, according to their thesis. Instead, Cybercabs will be available to pick you up and drop you off on demand, safely, without any human help.

As a result, Tesla has thinned its lineup considerably, and one can only ask where the vehicle lineup goes from here. Eventually, it seems like Cybercab could be the only vehicle that Tesla will sell.

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SpaceX’s next Starship flight set to make history on Friday the 13th

SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15 and its first ship catch.

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SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15, the mission the company plans to use for its first attempt at catching the ship itself with the launch tower.

SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev shared the date on stage at the UP.Summit on Thursday, according to Ars Technica’s Eric Berger, who was in attendance. It is the first launch target to come directly from a SpaceX executive. Until now, the public schedule had relied on FAA air traffic planning slides, which listed Flight 15 for no earlier than November 8 and later November 12. SpaceX has not posted an official mission page yet, and no launch time has been shared.

The date lands inside the window Elon Musk sketched out last month. Speaking at Giga Texas on October 10, Musk said the flight would “probably launch a little bit before Thanksgiving,” as Teslarati reported. On SpaceX’s third quarter earnings call ten days later, he confirmed that Flight 15 would try to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the ship, and put the odds of a successful ship catch at “more likely than not.” SpaceX also aired an animation of the maneuver during that webcast, showing the ship swinging vertical over Starbase before dropping into the tower’s chopsticks.

The hardware is ready. Booster 22 fired all 33 of its Raptor engines for a full duration static fire at Pad 2 on October 25. Ship 42 followed with a single engine burn simulating a deorbit maneuver on October 26 and a 60 second firing of all six engines the next day, according to NASASpaceflight. Ship 42 had already rehearsed the catch in September, when the Pad 2 arms lifted it into position and crews connected the quick disconnect arm while the vehicle hung from the tower.

The remaining hurdle is regulatory. The FAA’s Starship page does not yet list a Flight 15 license. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in October that, after “significant constructive engagement with the FAA,” she expects the license to cover a return to the launch site and a tower catch for both stages. Bringing the ship home means a reentry path that heads toward land, rather than ending over open ocean as every Starship flight so far has.

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SpaceX has caught Super Heavy three times, on Flights 5, 7 and 8, but the ship comes back from orbital velocity and has never been caught. Flight 14 on September 28 was the first Starship to reach orbit, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites before splashing down despite an early engine shutdown that Musk blamed on engine computer software.

Musk has called a successful ship catch “the first time that there’s been full recovery of an orbital class rocket,” and he has already named the step after it: a Flight 16 where both the booster and the ship fly again. NASASpaceflight reports that Ship 43, the next vehicle in line, is set for static fire testing in December.

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EVgo taps Tesla Superchargers for mass charging expansion

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Credit: EVgo

EVgo has tapped Tesla Superchargers for its most recent efforts to expand its charging presence in the United States, a move that seems logical based on the effectiveness of the automaker’s own infrastructure.

EVgo opened its first Supercharger site in Illinois, a 12-stall station near downtown Chicago at 3145 South Ashland Avenue in the Riverside Square & River’s Edge center, right beside a grocery store. This marks the start of the company’s plan to deploy hundreds of Supercharger stalls across the United States, primarily at grocery-anchored Regency Centers properties where drivers can shop, eat, or run errands while they charge.

The new location uses Tesla’s Magic Dock technology so both NACS and CCS vehicles can plug in natively without drivers needing to carry their own adapters. Peak power reaches 325 kW at this site, with pricing set between $0.25 and $0.35 per kWh depending on the hour—the same rate for Tesla and non-Tesla drivers.

The stalls also appear in Tesla’s in-car navigation and Trip Planner, making them easy for Tesla owners to find and route to. Illinois has seen EV registrations rise nearly 60 percent over the past two years, and EVgo’s broader network has experienced more than 700 percent growth in charging demand over three years, so the timing fits the market’s trajectory.

Choosing Tesla hardware through the Supercharger for Business program turns out to have been a smart, practical move.

Tesla’s V4 stalls and cabinets deliver high, reliable power with a proven track record of strong uptime, while Magic Dock delivers true dual-standard compatibility in one package. Because the sites show up in Tesla’s navigation tools, EVgo instantly gains visibility among millions of existing Tesla drivers, which should raise utilization and help the company double its addressable market as more vehicles adopt NACS. EVgo still owns the stations and sets pricing, yet benefits from Tesla’s established hardware, longer cables, and operational support.

The result is faster, lower-risk infrastructure expansion that serves every EV driver—Tesla or otherwise—with convenient, high-power charging at everyday retail locations. For drivers, that means fewer adapters, more predictable stops, and a denser network just as electric vehicles become everyday transportation.

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