News
Stealth EV startup Rivian adds McLaren and Nike execs to lead development
Rivian, the stealthy, Michigan-based electric vehicle (EV) startup, is taking large steps forward in their new vehicle development program. The company recently added two new executives, Mark Vinnels and Rob Williams.
Mark Vinnels joined Rivian in November as Executive Director of Engineering and Programs, and oversees the development of Rivian’s vehicle platform. Vinnels was formerly the Executive Director of Product Development and Programme Director at McLaren Automotive. Vinnels joined McLaren in 2004 to lead the development of McLaren’s first road car since the infamous F1. Before joining McLaren, Vinnels was head of Lotus’s new vehicle programs and oversaw the Elise, Exige, and Europa new vehicle lines. Vinnels is also credited for his instrumental role in the development of GM’s Family 1 engine program.
Mark Vinnels, Rivian’s new Executive Director of Engineering & Programs at Rivian Automotive. (Credit McLaren Automotive)
While at McLaren, Vinnels helped the company grow its engineering division from roughly 50 engineers to 550 and significantly increased its vehicle lineup.
Rivian’s team also includes another former McLaren executive, Anthony Sheriff, who joined Rivian’s Board of Directors in 2016. Sheriff was the Managing Director of McLaren Automotive from 2003-2013, a period in which McLaren created a road car division in addition to the company’s rich history in the automotive racing arena. Sheriff was an executive at Fiat before his tenure at McLaren and also sits on the Board of Directors for electric supercar manufacturer Rimac.
Also joining Rivian is Rob Williams as Chief Creative Officer. Williams carries experience from both the automotive industry and the footwear industry. He was most recently a Senior Design Director of Footwear at Nike and spent four-and-a-half years at Chrysler. During his time as a product designer at Chrysler, he led several designs of Chrysler SUVs and Dodge Trucks.
Williams joins Jeff Hammoud, Director of Vehicle Design. Hammoud has extensive experience at Fiat-Chrysler and left the company as Chief of Design of the Jeep Brand. Hammoud joined Rivian in May 2017, followed by Williams in June.
Based on a combination of the design team’s backgrounds and patents released by Rivian last summer, it appears that Rivian’s first vehicle could be some sort of SUV. An in-depth analysis of Rivian’s design team members’ LinkedIn profiles reveals that nearly half of the team has experience with Fiat Chrysler Automotive (Formerly Chrysler), with many specializing in SUV/Truck designs.
Rivian’s Patent for “Reconfigurable Electric Vehicles”. It’s worth noting that patents do not usually reflect a vehicle’s actual planned design, rather the mechanism that the company is patenting. (Credit: Public Patent Filing)
Rivian currently has 225 employees, up from 115 at the start of the year. Other notable additions to Rivian’s team include 15 former Faraday Future employees. Faraday Future is nearly defunct after it continued to miss its wildly ambitious goals and saw its main financier’s global expansion fall apart. Most of the team from Faraday is working on Rivian’s autonomous driving technology or other highly technical roles.
The timeline for Rivian’s massive 2.6 million-square-foot manufacturing facility on the west side of Normal is still unknown. Rivian purchased the factory in January 2017 for $16 million, including all of the contents in the factory.
While Rivian hasn’t revealed many details about the development of its all-electric vehicle platform, the company revealed today that it has received a large strategic investment from New York-based Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA).
Rivian’s CEO RJ Scaringe couldn’t comment directly on the details of the investment, but did say the following to AdaptBN: “We are honored and excited to have Sumitomo as a strategic investor. Their global reach, expertise, and network in the automotive sector will help us in executing our vision. This investment reflects the result of our team’s hard work in developing our technology and products.”
Due to the level of mystery surrounding Rivian’s plans and product line, local residents and officials have begun comparing it to the likes of “Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.” But only time will tell if Rivian holds a golden ticket to the future.
Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving version 14.2 yesterday to members of the Early Access Program (EAP). Expectations were high, and Tesla surely delivered.
With the rollout of Tesla FSD v14.2, there were major benchmarks for improvement from the v14.1 suite, which spanned across seven improvements. Our final experience with v14.1 was with v14.1.7, and to be honest, things were good, but it felt like there were a handful of regressions from previous iterations.
While there were improvements in brake stabbing and hesitation, we did experience a few small interventions related to navigation and just overall performance. It was nothing major; there were no critical takeovers that required any major publicity, as they were more or less subjective things that I was not particularly comfortable with. Other drivers might have been more relaxed.
With v14.2 hitting our cars yesterday, there were a handful of things we truly noticed in terms of improvement, most notably the lack of brake stabbing and hesitation, a major complaint with v14.1.x.
However, in a 62-minute drive that was fully recorded, there were a lot of positives, and only one true complaint, which was something we haven’t had issues with in the past.
The Good
Lack of Brake Stabbing and Hesitation
Perhaps the most notable and publicized issue with v14.1.x was the presence of brake stabbing and hesitation. Arriving at intersections was particularly nerve-racking on the previous version simply because of this. At four-way stops, the car would not be assertive enough to take its turn, especially when other vehicles at the same intersection would inch forward or start to move.
This was a major problem.
However, there were no instances of this yesterday on our lengthy drive. It was much more assertive when arriving at these types of scenarios, but was also more patient when FSD knew it was not the car’s turn to proceed.
Can report on v14.2 today there were ZERO instances of break stabbing or hesitation at intersections today
It was a significant improvement from v14.1.x
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 21, 2025
This improvement was the most noticeable throughout the drive, along with fixes in overall smoothness.
Speed Profiles Seem to Be More Reasonable
There were a handful of FSD v14 users who felt as if the loss of a Max Speed setting was a negative. However, these complaints will, in our opinion, begin to subside, especially as things have seemed to be refined quite nicely with v14.2.
Freeway driving is where this is especially noticeable. If it’s traveling too slow, just switch to a faster profile. If it’s too fast, switch to a slower profile. However, the speeds seem to be much more defined with each Speed Profile, which is something that I really find to be a huge advantage. Previously, you could tell the difference in speeds, but not in driving styles. At times, Standard felt a lot like Hurry. Now, you can clearly tell the difference between the two.
It seems as if Tesla made a goal that drivers should be able to tell which Speed Profile is active if it was not shown on the screen. With v14.1.x, this was not necessarily something that could be done. With v14.2, if someone tested me on which Speed Profile was being used, I’m fairly certain I could pick each one.
Better Overall Operation
I felt, at times, especially with v14.1.7, there were some jerky movements. Nothing that was super alarming, but there were times when things just felt a little more finicky than others.
v14.2 feels much smoother overall, with really great decision-making, lane changes that feel second nature, and a great speed of travel. It was a very comfortable ride.
The Bad
Parking
It feels as if there was a slight regression in parking quality, as both times v14.2 pulled into parking spots, I would have felt compelled to adjust manually if I were staying at my destinations. For the sake of testing, at my first destination, I arrived, allowed the car to park, and then left. At the tail-end of testing, I walked inside the store that FSD v14.2 drove me to, so I had to adjust the parking manually.
This was pretty disappointing. Apart from parking at Superchargers, which is always flawless, parking performance is something that needs some attention. The release notes for v14.2. state that parking spot selection and parking quality will improve with future versions.
Any issues with parking on your end? 14.1.7 didn’t have this trouble with parking pic.twitter.com/JPLRO2obUj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 21, 2025
However, this was truly my only complaint about v14.2.
You can check out our full 62-minute ride-along below:
Elon Musk
SpaceX issues statement on Starship V3 Booster 18 anomaly
The incident unfolded during gas-system pressure testing at the company’s Massey facility in Starbase, Texas.
SpaceX has issued an initial statement about Starship Booster 18’s anomaly early Friday. The incident unfolded during gas-system pressure testing at the company’s Massey facility in Starbase, Texas.
SpaceX’s initial comment
As per SpaceX in a post on its official account on social media platform X, Booster 18 was undergoing gas system pressure tests when the anomaly happened. Despite the nature of the incident, the company emphasized that no propellant was loaded, no engines were installed, and personnel were kept at a safe distance from the booster, resulting in zero injuries.
“Booster 18 suffered an anomaly during gas system pressure testing that we were conducting in advance of structural proof testing. No propellant was on the vehicle, and engines were not yet installed. The teams need time to investigate before we are confident of the cause. No one was injured as we maintain a safe distance for personnel during this type of testing. The site remains clear and we are working plans to safely reenter the site,” SpaceX wrote in its post on X.
Incident and aftermath
Livestream footage from LabPadre showed Booster 18’s lower half crumpling around the liquid oxygen tank area at approximately 4:04 a.m. CT. Subsequent images posted by on-site observers revealed extensive deformation across the booster’s lower structure. Needless to say, spaceflight observers have noted that Booster 18 would likely be a complete loss due to its anomaly.
Booster 18 had rolled out only a day earlier and was one of the first vehicles in the Starship V3 program. The V3 series incorporates structural reinforcements and reliability upgrades intended to prepare Starship for rapid-reuse testing and eventual tower-catch operations. Elon Musk has been optimistic about Starship V3, previously noting on X that the spacecraft might be able to complete initial missions to Mars.
Investor's Corner
Tesla analyst maintains $500 PT, says FSD drives better than humans now
The team also met with Tesla leaders for more than an hour to discuss autonomy, chip development, and upcoming deployment plans.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) received fresh support from Piper Sandler this week after analysts toured the Fremont Factory and tested the company’s latest Full Self-Driving software. The firm reaffirmed its $500 price target, stating that FSD V14 delivered a notably smooth robotaxi demonstration and may already perform at levels comparable to, if not better than, average human drivers.
The team also met with Tesla leaders for more than an hour to discuss autonomy, chip development, and upcoming deployment plans.
Analysts highlight autonomy progress
During more than 75 minutes of focused discussions, analysts reportedly focused on FSD v14’s updates. Piper Sandler’s team pointed to meaningful strides in perception, object handling, and overall ride smoothness during the robotaxi demo.
The visit also included discussions on updates to Tesla’s in-house chip initiatives, its Optimus program, and the growth of the company’s battery storage business. Analysts noted that Tesla continues refining cost structures and capital expenditure expectations, which are key elements in future margin recovery, as noted in a Yahoo Finance report.
Analyst Alexander Potter noted that “we think FSD is a truly impressive product that is (probably) already better at driving than the average American.” This conclusion was strengthened by what he described as a “flawless robotaxi ride to the hotel.”
Street targets diverge on TSLA
While Piper Sandler stands by its $500 target, it is not the highest estimate on the Street. Wedbush, for one, has a $600 per share price target for TSLA stock.
Other institutions have also weighed in on TSLA stock as of late. HSBC reiterated a Reduce rating with a $131 target, citing a gap between earnings fundamentals and the company’s market value. By contrast, TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating and a $509 target, pointing to strong autonomous driving demonstrations in Austin and the pace of software-driven improvements.
Stifel analysts also lifted their price target for Tesla to $508 per share over the company’s ongoing robotaxi and FSD programs.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 – Full Review, the Good and the Bad
SpaceX issues statement on Starship V3 Booster 18 anomaly
