Connect with us

News

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

(Image: Autoblog Argentina)

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla plans for largest Australian Supercharger yet

The company has a 20-stall site in the city of Goulburn in New South Wales, which is an ideal location for trips between Sydney and Canberra, two major cities.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla is planning to build its largest Supercharger in Australia yet, expanding on the infrastructure the company has built for electric vehicles.

The company has a 20-stall site in the city of Goulburn in New South Wales, which is an ideal location for trips between Sydney and Canberra, two major cities.

However, according to The Driven, a new Australian Supercharger is on the way, and it is going to be the biggest in the country, accounting for more than 25 stalls total. They will likely be V4 Superchargers, Tesla’s fastest piles that enable some serious range for cars that will plug in.

Tesla is operating 148 active Supercharger sites in Australia, with 80 of those being available to non-Tesla EVs as a part of the company’s initiative to make things accessible for all electric vehicle owners.

The expansion of Tesla Superchargers is welcome for all EV owners, especially as there are so many automakers that have access to the network. It is widely reliable and extremely dependable; it is tough to find a Supercharger location that is completely out of service.

The opening of the stalls will be welcome for the Tesla owners of Australia, especially as the Model Y continues to be a major contributor to the company’s prowess in the market.

Advertisement

Tesla’s sales performance in Australia showed a mixed but challenging picture in 2025, with the company delivering 28,856 new vehicles, marking a significant 24.8% decline from 38,347 units in 2024.

This represented the brand’s largest annual drop on record and the second consecutive year of decline, amid intensifying competition from Chinese EV makers like BYD and shifting buyer preferences toward SUVs. The Tesla Model Y remained a standout performer and Australia’s best-selling electric vehicle, with 22,239 deliveries, up 4.6percent year-over-year, accounting for about 77 percent of Tesla’s total sales.

The mid-year launch of the updated “Juniper” Model Y helped sustain momentum in the popular mid-size SUV segment.

In contrast, the Model 3 sedan struggled sharply, plummeting 61.3 percent to just 6,617 units, as consumers favored SUVs and faced growing options in the sedan category.

Advertisement

Despite the overall dip, Tesla held onto leadership in the EV segment, capturing roughly 28 percent of the BEV market. Australia’s EV market grew robustly, surpassing 156,000 sales and reaching 13 percent market share, up 38.7 percent from 2024, highlighting strong broader adoption even as Tesla faced headwinds.

Early 2026 data suggests a rebound, with EV sales nearly doubling year-over-year in February and the Model Y showing strong gains, positioning Tesla for potential recovery amid ongoing competition.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Model Y L gets new entertainment feature

Beyond audio quality, Immersive Sound X aligns with Tesla’s ecosystem of over-the-air updates, potentially allowing future refinements.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla China

Tesla is including a new entertainment feature in the Model Y L, improving the vehicle even further and making it what appears to be the best configuration of the all-electric crossover globally.

Unfortunately, we in the U.S. do not yet have access to the vehicle, and the plans for it to enter the market remain up in the air, as CEO Elon Musk has said it could appear late this year. However, there is nothing concrete at this time.

Tesla’s latest enhancement to the Model Y L is a new Immersive Sound X feature, exclusive to the Model Y L.

It aims to transform the in-car listening experience into something truly cinematic. First introduced by Tesla China in October 2025, this advanced audio mode is now rolling out to deliveries in Australia and New Zealand, highlighting Tesla’s approach to region-specific premium upgrades.

At its core, Immersive Sound X leverages real-time sound extraction technology to create a customizable 3D soundstage. Using advanced algorithms, it analyzes audio tracks to separate direct sounds, such as vocals or lead instruments, from ambient elements like echoes and reverb.

The system then positions direct sounds front and center while diffusing ambient sounds to the side and rear speakers, simulating an expansive virtual environment. This results in a heightened sense of depth and spatial awareness, making listeners feel as if they’re in a concert hall or studio.

Advertisement

What sets Immersive Sound X apart from the standard Immersive Sound found in other Tesla models is its hardware dependency and enhanced processing. The Model Y L boasts an 18-speaker system with a subwoofer, compared to the 15-speaker setup, plus a subwoofer, in the Model Y Long Range’s previous premium audio configuration.

This upgrade provides more “kick” and precision, enabling finer control over the soundstage. Unlike traditional surround sound, which requires multi-channel mixes like Dolby Atmos, Immersive Sound X works with any stereo source from platforms like Spotify or Apple Music, so every owner will be able to use it.

Tesla Model Y lineup expansion signals an uncomfortable reality for consumers

You can fine-tune the experience via an adjustable immersion slider, scaling the “size” of the virtual space to personal preferences. This caters to a more custom sound.

Advertisement

An Auto mode intelligently adapts based on media type, whether it’s music, podcasts, or videos, ensuring optimal immersion without manual tweaks. This feature is unavailable on standard Model Y variants (with 7 or 15 speakers) or Model 3 trims, underscoring Tesla’s strategy to differentiate higher trims through superior hardware and software integration.

Beyond audio quality, Immersive Sound X aligns with Tesla’s ecosystem of over-the-air updates, potentially allowing future refinements.

For audiophiles and casual listeners alike, it elevates mundane commutes into immersive journeys, proving Tesla’s commitment to blending cutting-edge tech with user-centric design.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk teases crazy outlook for xAI against its competitors

Musk’s response was vintage hyperbole, designed to rally supporters and dismiss doubters, something his responses on social media often do.

Published

on

Credit: NVIDIA

Elon Musk has never been one to shy away from crazy timelines, massive expectations, and outrageous outlooks. However, his recent plans for xAI and where he believes it will end up compared to its competitors are sure to stimulate conversation.

In a bold and characteristic response on X, Elon Musk fired back at a recent analysis that positioned his AI venture, xAI, as lagging behind industry frontrunners.

The post, from March 14, came as a direct reply to forecaster Peter Wildeford’s assessment, which drew from benchmarks and reporting to rank AI developers.

Wildeford placed Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI in a virtual tie at the top, with xAI and Meta trailing by about seven months. Chinese players like Moonshot, Deepseek, zAI, and Alibaba were estimated to be nine months behind, while France’s Mistral lagged by about a year and a half.

Musk’s response was vintage hyperbole, designed to rally supporters and dismiss doubters, something his responses on social media often do.

He claimed xAI would “catch up this year,” meaning by the end of 2026, erasing that seven-month deficit against the leaders. But he didn’t stop there.

Advertisement

Musk escalated his vision to 2029, predicting xAI would “exceed them all by such a long distance” that observers would need the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s orbiting observatory stationed about 930,000 miles from Earth, to spot whoever lands in second place. This analogy underscores Musk’s confidence in xAI’s trajectory, implying an astronomical lead that could redefine the AI landscape.

Breaking down these claims reveals Musk’s strategic optimism. First, the short-term catch-up: xAI, launched in 2023, has already released models like Grok, but recent benchmarks, including those for Grok 4.2, have shown it falling short in capabilities compared to rivals.

Anthropic’s Claude series, Google’s Gemini, and OpenAI’s GPT models dominate in areas like reasoning, coding, and multimodal tasks. Musk’s assertion suggests aggressive scaling in compute, talent, or architecture, perhaps leveraging xAI’s ties to Tesla’s Dojo supercomputers or Musk’s vast resources, to close the gap swiftly.

The longer-term dominance by 2029 paints an even more audacious picture. Musk envisions xAI not just parity but supremacy, outpacing competitors in innovation speed and model sophistication.

Advertisement

This could involve breakthroughs in energy-efficient training, real-world integration, like Tesla’s robotics, or ethical AI alignment, aligning with Musk’s stated goal of “understanding the universe.”

Critics, however, point to parallels with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving delays; one reply highlighted Musk’s 2023 promise of FSD readiness. Musk has made this promise for many years, and although the system has been strong and improving, it is still a ways off from the completely autonomous operation that was expected by now.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2.2.5 might be the most confusing release ever

Musk’s comment highlights the intensifying U.S.-centric AI race, with xAI challenging the “three-way” dominance noted by Wharton professor Ethan Mollick, whom Wildeford quoted. As geopolitical tensions rise—evident in the Chinese firms’ lag—Musk’s tease could spur investment and talent wars.

Advertisement

Yet, it also invites scrutiny: Will xAI deliver, or is this another telescope-needed mirage? In an industry where timelines slip but stakes soar, Musk’s words keep the spotlight on xAI’s ambitious path forward.

Continue Reading