News
Rivian announces R1T pickup truck: $69k starting price, 400+ mile range, and 11k-lb towing capacity
US-based EV startup Rivian has come out of the shadows to announce the specs of its first vehicle — the R1T all-electric pickup truck. The R1T, which seats five passengers, is designed from the ground up to be as comfortable off the beaten path as it is on paved roads. Armed to the teeth with clever features and cutting-edge technology, Rivian’s first entry into the electric vehicle market has the potential to be a game-changer.
Rivian spent the better part of the past decade developing its first vehicles — the R1T pickup truck and the R1S SUV, which is set to be unveiled tomorrow at the LA Auto Show. Only the specs of the R1T have been unveiled so far, though in terms of performance, range, and features, the pickup truck is notably impressive. The R1T, for one, is equipped with four electric motors, each one having a power capacity of 147 kW, as well as 3,500 Nm of grounded torque per wheel.
Three battery pack variants will be offered for the vehicle — a 180 kWh battery that is expected to give 400+ miles of range per charge, a 135 kWh option that gives 300+ miles of range per charge, and a 105 kWh variant, which will give about 230+ miles of range per charge. Rivian plans to start manufacturing the R1T’s higher-end options first, followed by the entry-level version, which starts at $69,000 within 12 months from the start of production. Production for the R1T is expected to begin in 2020.
The Rivian R1T all-electric pickup truck. [Credit: Rivian]
Being a vehicle designed for the outdoors, the Rivian R1T has the capability to wade through up to 1 meter of water. The pickup, while comparable in size to trucks like the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Tacoma, also outguns its competition in terms of towing capacity. Thanks to its four electric motors, the R1T has a towing capacity of 11,000 pounds, a figure that is more comparable to America’s best-selling vehicle, the larger Ford F-150.
There’s also a lot of storage in the R1T, with a frunk that offers 11.7 cubic feet (330 liters) and a “gear tunnel” — a storage area that spans the width of the vehicle, — that provides an additional 12.4 cubic feet (350 liters) of space. Rivian notes that the gear tunnel would be perfect for storing items like skis, fishing rods, and golf bags. The all-electric pickup’s bed is also fitted with three 110-volt outlets with more than 400 watts available at each, as well as a compressed air source for filling in bike tires.
While the Rivian R1T is evidently designed to be a vehicle that is at home in rough terrain, the pickup truck still features some of the trademark features of premium electric vehicles. Just like Tesla’s electric cars, the R1T features impressive acceleration, with the entry-level truck hitting 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and the 180 kWh top-tier variant going from 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. Interestingly, the mid-level 135 kWh variant of the R1T is the quickest, with a 0-60 mph time of 3 seconds flat. All three versions of the vehicle have a top speed of 125 mph, similar to the Mid Range Model 3 RWD.
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- (Photo: Rivian)
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- The Rivian RT1’s spec sheet. [Credit: Rivian]
The Rivian R1T all-electric pickup truck. [Credit: Rivian]
The R1T’s futuristic approach to adventure could be seen in the design flourishes on its interior. The vehicle is equipped with a 15.6″ landscape-oriented center touchscreen, as well as a 12.3-inch display that takes the place of an instrument cluster. A 6.8-inch touchscreen is placed at the back of the center console, giving rear passengers infotainment and climate control access. The R1T’s steering wheel also features two thumb dials, just like the Model 3. Finally, the R1T is fitted with hardware that allows it to be fully self-driving in the future, thanks to a suite of cameras, lidar, radar, ultrasonic, and high-precision GPS technologies.
In a statement to The Verge, Rivian CEO and founder RJ Scaringe stated that the company is laser-focused on the adventure niche. The founder further explained that Rivian stayed largely in the shadows over the past years to ensure that its first vehicles are refined and competitive once they enter the market.
“They may have different form factors, they may be different sizes, but every single one of [our products] has to have this Patagonia-like feel of enabling adventure. We want to keep that very sharp. We want to focus only on the adventure space, so customers understand what we stand for.”
“We were quiet in stealth mode to avoid getting caught in this sort of hype cycle, and we said let’s make sure we have all the pieces lined up — the vehicle, the technology, the team, the supply chain, the manufacturing plant — before we actually talk about it. Because of that, some people have been questioning [us]. People need to see that this is very, very real,” Scaringe said.
Interested buyers could place a refundable deposit of $1,000 for the Rivian R1T here.
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Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck production snaps back after ugly supplier fight
Cybertrucks are piling up again at Giga Texas after Tesla’s court win against a parts supplier.
Cybertruck production at Giga Texas is showing its first visible recovery since Tesla sued a supplier last month over withheld manufacturing tooling.
Aerial observer Joe Tegtmeyer flew over the Austin factory Wednesday morning and counted roughly 100 or more Cybertrucks filling the outbound lot, a sharp jump from the thin numbers seen in recent weeks. The flyover came a day after a judge granted Tesla a temporary restraining order against Angstrom Automotive Group, the parts supplier at the center of the dispute.
Tesla filed an emergency lawsuit in late July after Angstrom told the automaker it planned to close the Troy, Texas facility where Tesla’s die-cast tools, trim dies and other Cybertruck stamping equipment were housed. According to Tesla’s complaint, a shipment of 700 finished parts never left the building, and when Tesla sent representatives to retrieve its equipment, accompanied by law enforcement, they were turned away. Angstrom allegedly then asked for an extra $250,000 a week to keep operating, which Tesla’s filing described as holding its own property for ransom.
TESLA: U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Wolfe of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division granted Tesla a Temporary Restraining Order and Writ of Replevin in its dispute with Angstrom Automotive (Case No. 6:26-cv-00477).
The order authorizes… https://t.co/E1DKcQSxMn pic.twitter.com/LR8aAiV2Og
— S.E. Robinson, Jr. (@SERobinsonJr) August 5, 2026
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The restraining order gives Tesla immediate right of entry to Angstrom’s facility to recover the tooling. It is temporary, with a fuller hearing still to come, but the speed of Wednesday’s rebound suggests the Angstrom shortage was indeed the main bottleneck limiting Cybertruck output. Outbound lot counts are an imperfect measure of actual production, since finished trucks can sit for days before shipping, but a lot that full after a lean stretch is a meaningful signal.
Cybertruck output at Giga Texas has fluctuated all year as Tesla worked through supply issues and introduced new trims, including a cheaper Dual Motor AWD version that drew strong early demand.
Elon Musk
Space finally faced the people living next to its next Terafab mega-project
SpaceX confirmed Terafab’s Grimes County site is locked in, with construction starting within months.
SpaceX and Terafab representatives sat across from Grimes County residents for the first time on Wednesday, telling a packed Commissioners Court room that the $55 billion chip manufacturing project is now a done deal at the Gibbons Creek Reservoir site.
The meeting followed a $10 million check SpaceX sent the county earlier this week, satisfying a payment deadline built into the tax abatement agreement both sides signed in June. Elon Musk shared a post on X confirming the payment, and County Judge Joe Fauth told the San Antonio Express-News his office deposited the check after it beat its deadline.
Wednesday’s session, first reported by KBTX, moved the project from paperwork to construction. Terafab representative Riley Trennell told residents the JETI tax break agreements with Iola ISD and Anderson-Shiro CISD are signed and active, and that civil work and foundation prep are starting almost immediately. Renderings of the facility could be released within days, he said, with construction beginning within months.
The foundations for an exciting future are being built in Texas. Next up: Terafab → https://t.co/jGg52Zhn5I pic.twitter.com/SNfSXNr2tb
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 6, 2026
Elon Musk launches TERAFAB: The $25B Tesla-SpaceXAI chip factory that will rewire the AI industry
Musk first announced Terafab in March as a joint venture between Tesla, SpaceX and xAI aimed at producing over a terawatt of AI compute annually, an amount that dwarfs the roughly 20 gigawatts the entire global chip industry produces today. Intel joined as a manufacturing partner in April. Musk has said the project needed its own day in the spotlight rather than being squeezed into an earnings call, and for months the Grimes County site remained unconfirmed even as reporting pointed there.
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SpaceX attorney Buck Brannon used Wednesday’s meeting to note that the company’s abatement is roughly 78 percent, not the 100 percent some earlier reports suggested. In exchange, SpaceX will pay Grimes County a fixed $20 million a year for 35 years, a total of $710 million, which Brannon said exceeds the $14 million Tesla paid Travis County in 2025.
SpaceX also addressed environmental concerns that have followed the project since Musk’s Terafab partnership with Intel was announced. Representatives said Terafab will not raise electric bills for other ratepayers, will not deplete local water supplies and will not draw down the Navasota River. SpaceX confirmed it owns the Navasota River pumping station, which it plans to use to divert stormwater into the Gibbons Creek Reservoir, and said it will build its own natural gas plants to power the facility rather than pulling from the ERCOT grid.
Grimes County commissioners also approved an addendum letting county employees use ten approved AI chatbots for work, including Grok.
Elon Musk has declared that SpaceX has effectively solved one of Starship’s most persistent engineering challenges: the reliability of its heat shield tiles.
During the company’s first-ever Earnings Call, the SpaceX CEO stated:
“I don’t want to jinx it or anything, but I think I would call the heat shield problem solved at this point. All indications from data and visual inspection is we have solved it. That doesn’t mean we won’t make improvements, but we do not see any technical obstacles to achieving rapid reusability at this point.”
Starship’s heat shield consists of roughly 18,000 hexagonal ceramic tiles covering the windward side of the upper stage. These tiles form the thermal protection system that shields the vehicle’s stainless-steel structure from the extreme heat of atmospheric reentry.
Elon says he believes the heat shield problem with Starship is currently solved.
He called it “arguably the single biggest problem” pic.twitter.com/eEE9vM5zlz
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 4, 2026
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During descent, atmospheric friction generates temperatures exceeding several thousand degrees Celsius and creates plasma flows capable of melting unprotected metal. The tiles absorb, radiate, and insulate against this energy, allowing the vehicle to survive and potentially fly again. Without a durable heat shield, full and rapid reusability, the cornerstone of Starship’s design for frequent launches, satellite deployments, and deep-space missions, would remain impossible.
The tiles have long been a source of difficulty. On earlier test flights, a significant number of tiles detached during ascent due to vibration, aerodynamic loads, and imperfect attachment methods using pins and adhesives. Gaps between tiles allowed hot plasma to infiltrate, causing secondary damage and hot spots on the underlying structure.
These issues echoed challenges faced by NASA’s Space Shuttle, whose ceramic tiles required extensive, labor-intensive inspections and replacements between missions, preventing rapid turnaround. SpaceX has iteratively improved materials, standardized tile shapes, refined attachment techniques, added secondary ablative layers, and tested sealing methods such as “crunch wrap” felt to close gaps.
Progress was visible across Flights 10–12, with steadily better tile retention, yet questions remained about whether the system could support the minimal-refurbishment goal of rapid reuse.
Flight 13 on July 24 provided the decisive evidence. Ship 40 flew a deliberately more demanding profile with higher dynamic pressure to stress the heat shield beyond typical operational loads. It successfully deployed 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites, the first such payload on a Starship mission, performed an in-space Raptor engine relight, and executed a controlled reentry.
Elon Musk sheds two new bits of detail on Starship after 13th test launch
Cameras on six of the satellites and onboard sensors captured extensive imagery and data of the shield throughout the flight. The ship then achieved its softest splashdown to date in the Indian Ocean, remaining intact and floating rather than breaking apart or exploding as on prior missions. This allowed drone inspections and continuous telemetry of the heat shield in near-real time.
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Post-flight analysis showed the majority of tiles remaining attached with only minor damage and limited plasma streaking at seams. Musk noted that the mission delivered “all the heat shield data we needed and then some.” Combined with visual inspections, these results underpinned his subsequent assessment that the core technical barriers to rapid reusability have been cleared. While refinements will continue, Flight 13 marked a pivotal step toward Starship’s operational future.
Tesla Cybertruck production snaps back after ugly supplier fight
Space finally faced the people living next to its next Terafab mega-project
