Rivian has just announced that its 2023 model year R1S SUV has been awarded Top Safety Pick+ status from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The all-electric SUV joins Rivian’s R1T pickup in obtaining the safety organization’s top honor.
Rivian ($RIVN) is now a couple of years removed from beginning production of its flagship EVs, but remains relatively nascent in a booming segment, especially in the SUV-loving US. The company is still trying to find its footing in scaled EV production and has taken its fair share of lumps along the way.
To date, Rivian’s vehicles have faced five safety recalls, the most recent coming in February, involving the passenger air bags of both the R1T and R1S. Still, current Rivian owners are the most satisfied customers in the premium EV segment, according to JD Power. The automaker recently dethroned the 2022 leader, Tesla.
While there are plenty of bells and whistles (and hidden flashlights) to relish in the Rivian R1T or R1S, safety remains a huge selling point for consumers, especially those with families. Last December, Rivian reported that its R1T pickup had been awarded as an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, just one of three pickups to earn the honor to date.
Today, the R1S joins Rivian’s other EV as yet another Top Safety Pick+, alongside video evidence of its crash strength shared below.
Credit: Rivian/YouTube
Watch the Rivian R1S endure IIHS crash safety testing
Per Rivian, all R1S models built after January 2023 carry the Top Safety Pick+ award from the nonprofit organization. The IIHS explained that this year’s criteria to receive top tier award status was tougher than ever:
The requirements are tougher for both the lower-tier Top Safety Pick and higher-tier Top Safety Pick+ award in 2023. Acceptable or good headlights are now required across all trims for either award, rather than only for the higher accolade. In addition, the updated side test, in which a heavier striking barrier hits the test vehicle at a higher speed, replaces the original side evaluation. Vehicles must earn an acceptable or good rating to qualify for Top Safety Pick. A good rating is required for the ‘plus.’
Rivian shared that the 2023 R1S not only earned the Top Safety Pick+ award but is also currently the only 2023 model in the large SUV category to earn the badge so far. Both Rivian’s flagship EVs now hold the top IIHS status for 2023 as the automaker looks to bolster sales and increase profits. Rivian vice president of chassis attributes and safety engineering Malin Ekholm spoke to the award:
The R1 line of vehicles was designed to be among the safest on the road today through clean-sheet structural design, optimized materials, and fully integrated software. We are delighted to see R1S join the R1T in receiving the Top Safety Pick+ award and will continue to make safety a key priority for our customers as they take on their next adventure.
As always, the IIHS posted crash test safety footage of the R1S today, which you can view below.
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Today was the official start of racing at the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025! There was a tremendous energy (and heat) on the ground at NCM Motorsports Park as nearly a dozen teams took to the track. Currently, as of writing, Stanford is ranked #1 in the SOV (Single-Occupant Vehicle) class with 68 registered laps. However, the fastest lap so far belongs to UC Berkeley, which clocked a 4:45 on the 3.15-mile track. That’s an average speed of just under 40 mph on nothing but solar energy. Not bad!
In the MOV (Multi-Occupant Vehicle) class, Polytechnique Montréal is narrowly ahead of Appalachian State by just 4 laps. At last year’s formula sun race, Polytechnique Montréal took first place overall in this class, and the team hopes to repeat that success. It’s still too early for prediction though, and anything can happen between now and the final day of racing on Saturday.
Congrats to the teams that made it on track today. We look forward to seeing even more out there tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some shots from today via the event’s wonderful photographer Cora Kennedy.
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The numbers are in and they are all bad for Tesla fans – the company sold just 5,000 Cybertruck models in Q4 of 2025, and built some 30% more “other” vehicles than it delivered. It just gets worse and worse, on today’s tension-building episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got day 1 coverage of the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix, reports that the Tesla Optimus program is in chaos after its chief engineer jumps ship, and a look ahead at the fresh new Hyundai IONIQ 2 set to bow early next year, thanks to some battery specs from the Kia EV2.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
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Tesla has launched its new Oasis Supercharger, the long-promised EV charging station of the future, with a solar farm and off-grid batteries.
Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to the Supercharger stations, and CEO Elon Musk even said that most stations would be able to operate off-grid.
While Tesla did add solar and batteries to a few stations, the vast majority of them don’t have their own power system or have only minimal solar canopies.
Back in 2016, I asked Musk about this, and he said that it would now happen as Tesla had the “pieces now in place” with Supercharger V3, Powerpack V2, and SolarCity:
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All of these pieces have been in place for years, and Tesla has now discontinued the Powerpack in favor of the Megapack. The Supercharger network is also transitioning to V4 stations.
Yet, solar and battery deployment haven’t accelerated much in the decade since Musk made that comment, but it is finally happening.
Tesla has now unveiled the project and turned on most of the Supercharger stalls:
The project consists of 168 chargers, with half of them currently operational, making it one of the largest Supercharger stations in the world. However, that’s not even the most notable aspect of it.
The station is equipped with 11 MW of ground-mounted solar panels and canopies, spanning 30 acres of land, and 10 Tesla Megapacks with a total energy storage capacity of 39 MWh.
It can be operated off-grid, which is the case right now, according to Tesla.
With off-grid operations, Tesla was about to bring 84 stalls online just in time for the Fourth of July travel weekend. The rest of the stalls and a lounge are going to open later this year.
Electrek’s Take
This is awesome. A bit late, but awesome. This is what charging stations should be like: fully powered by renewable energy.
Unfortunately, it will be much harder to open those stations in the future due to legislation that Trump and the Republican Party have just passed, which removes incentives for solar and energy storage, adds taxes on them, and removes incentives to build batteries – all things that have helped Tesla considerably over the last few years.
The US is likely going to have a few tough years for EV adoption and renewable energy deployment.
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