First drive: Rivian’s Tri-Motor R1 is more of a good thing, available now
Rivian invited us to come up and drive its new tri-motor “R1 Tri” spec vehicle through the hills of Malibu. Here’s what we thought about the drive.
The event was out of Rivian’s Venice Space, which was showing off the R2 and R3X as part of its R2 tour. But it also hosted auto journalists for a drive of the R1 Tri up PCH and through the famously snaky roads in the hills above Malibu, CA, and a roundtable discussion with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe (which we’ve posted some insights from, about the VW/Rivian partnership and Rivian’s soon-to-be-open Adventure Network).
The new tri-motor Rivian, which Rivian is simply calling the R1 Tri, is a mid-spec addition to its post-refresh product line. It sits between the base model dual motor and the higher-spec quad motor (Rivian has had a quad-motor before, but cut that option when it brought motor development in-house, though it will return in 2025), occupying what one engineer told us is a “Goldilocks” position – not too much, not too little.
Although “not too much” is relative here, because the Tri still offers a whopping 850 horsepower – which is more than, well, just about anything. It may not be as much as the 1,025hp Quad Max, coming in 2025, which shattered records at Pike’s Peak, but 850 is still a lot of go-go-go.
That’s enough to bring you from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, along with the debut of Launch Mode to help drivers coax maximum performance out of their vehicle. Launch mode will track your times, top speed, g-forces, and even capture your launch with the vehicle’s cameras (since we were on public roads shared with traffic and cyclists, we didn’t test this). It also utilizes Rivian’s cute “Gear Guard” mascot for a fun animation.
The Tri works with 1 motor in front and 2 in the rear, which means you have more control at the rear with two motors that are able to work independently of each other. This could come up in off-road situations with difficult traction, and also offers performance benefits in terms of torque vectoring on the axle that does most of the work during acceleration.
We drove the R1T truck, and in our drive on those narrow roads above Malibu, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to really stretch out that 850hp, at least not in a legal or safe manner. But we never felt even the slightest bit starved for power, zipping up hills and carrying the ~7,000lb curb weight along with us.
For such a large and heavy truck, the R1T was nevertheless impressively nimble. When the truck was in my co-driver’s hands, the rear end did feel jumpy a few times when going over slightly bumpy parts of the road – perhaps a different suspension mode might have helped with this.
While we tried several of the modes available, there are so many permutations of drive mode, suspension stiffness, ride height, steering response, regen mode and so on that it would probably take some time to really dial in the car to make it feel exactly like you want. I’m generally not a huge fan of different drive modes, though for some things like suspension and ride height it makes sense.
In terms of battery, the Tri comes equipped with Rivian’s Max size battery pack, which gives it 371 miles of range. Rivian says you can push this to 405 miles in “conserve” mode, but as usual, your mileage may vary.
These range numbers are both predicated on using road tires. Rivian also offers all-terrain tires with more off-road versatility, but these come with a penalty to efficiency, lowering range to 329 miles.
The Tri comes alongside the debut of Rivian’s new “Ascend” trim level, an interior with premium materials throughout and some additional new features, over and above the hundreds of changes that Rivian made alongside this year’s Gen 2 refresh.
For now all Tris will come in Ascend trim, which includes Rivian Premium Audio, an upgraded 960 watt Dolby Atmos sound system, a darkout package that replaces chrome badges with darker-colored ones, a 150PSI air compressor with a hose that can reach all four tires, and Rivian’s dynamic glass roof which becomes electrochromically opaque at the tap of a button if you want to block the sun.
The interior felt plenty comfortable and obviously spacious for all the time we were in it, though it’s not as directly comfort-oriented as some of the other large EVs we’ve tried, like the Volvo EX90 and the Hyundai Ioniq 9 (the latter was a concept interior, though).
The Rivian still gets points for being exceptionally utilitarian though, with plenty of pockets and storage spaces throughout. This is one reason why Rivian excels in customer satisfaction, because it’s just such an easy vehicle to use.
In the end, the R1 Tri doesn’t revolutionize anything about what Rivian was already doing, but just adds another option for owners who want more power and capability… and are willing to pay extra for it.
The new R1 Tri-Motor is available now, with R1T starting at $99,900 and R1S starting at $105,900 at Rivian.com. Deliveries of inventory vehicles look to have a 1-6 week lead time currently, so should be available by the end of the year – but custom configurations are quoted with a 8-12 week lead time, and thus seem unlikely that they’ll deliver by the end of the year.
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With the federal EV incentive set to expire at the end of September, Ford is urging its dealers to prepare for a rush of buyers.
Ford warns dealers of upcoming EV rush
Like most automakers, Ford is preparing for a shakeup under the Trump Administration. After the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law on July 4, the $7,500 and $4,000 tax credit for new and used EVs will no longer be available after September 30.
In a memo sent to dealers this week, Ford warned, “demand is expected to increase as the deadline approaches for eligible vehicles.”
The letter (via CarsDirect) confirmed that the EV tax credit “will no longer be available for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.”
Ford blamed Trump’s new bill for the expected rush of EV buyers ahead of the incentive deadline. Although the Mustang Mach-E doesn’t qualify for the credit, since it’s built in Mexico, Ford is passing it on through a leasing loophole. While it’s still available, the F-150 Lightning does qualify for the credit when purchased or leased.
Last week, Ford launched its new “Zero, Zero, Zero” summer sales promo, offering a $0 down payment, 0% interest for 48 months, and zero payments for the first 90 days on most Ford and Lincoln vehicles.
The new campaign replaces the employee pricing for all campaign, which ran through the first half of the year. Despite outpacing the industry with overall sales rising 14% in Q2, Ford’s EV sales fell by nearly a third.
Ford spokesperson Martin Gunsberg told Electrek that electric vehicle sales were lower due to the Mustang Mach-E recall and the transition to the 2025 model year. “Our dealers can’t sell what they don’t have,” Gunsberg said.
Although the Mach-E doesn’t qualify for the credit when purchased, it’s still one of the best EV lease deals available right now, starting at $395 per month. The offer is for 36 months with no down payment required.
Ford isn’t the only one preparing for big changes over the next few months. Honda extended its ultra-low lease offer on the Prologue until the end of September. Hyundai and Kia are slashing prices with generous discounts ahead of the deadline. The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 might be the best EV deal at just $179 per month right now.
Looking to snag the savings while they are still available? You can use our links below to find deals on top-selling electric vehicles in your area.
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Environment
Tesla engineer admits Tesla didn’t maintain Autopilot crash records amid trial over fatal crash
A Tesla engineer admitted in court that Tesla didn’t maintain Autopilot crash records before 2018, 3 years after launching the ADAS system, in a trial over the death of a bystander in a crash involving Autopilot.
Tesla is currently on trial in Miami over a crash involving a 2019 Tesla Model S that was operating on Autopilot.
The case attempts to place some responsibility on Tesla for creating complacency with drivers, who were led to believe Autopilot could do more than it actually could.
George McGee was driving his Model S on Autopilot in Key Largo in April 2019 when he dropped his phone and looked down to pick it up when the car blew past a stop sign at a T intersection, and crashed into a parked Chevrolet Tahoe.
22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and her boyfriend Dillon Angulo were standing next to the parked Tahoe. Benavides died and Angulo was seriously injured.
The police charged McGee with reckless driving, but the families of the victims sued both McGee and Tesla. McGee settled with the plaintiffs, but Tesla hasn’t.
The automaker has been sued many times over fatal crashes related to its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems. Recently, Tesla settled a few of those lawsuits, but this one is the first to make it to trial.
The plaintiffs allege that Tesla’s communications regarding Autopilot have led drivers, such as McGee, to become complacent and use Autopilot in a manner that led to this crash. They also claim that Tesla misrepresented the safety of Autopilot and failed to deploy proper driver monitoring to ensure its safe use.
The trial started on Monday and on Thursday, the jury heard testimony from Tesla software engineer Akshay Phatak who said that Tesla didn’t even complete records of Autopilot crashes before March 2018 (via Law360):
At the end of the first day of testimony, jurors watched part of the videotaped deposition of Tesla software engineer Akshay Phatak in which he said Tesla did not maintain records before March 2018 for evaluating whether it was safer to operate Tesla vehicles with the autopilot engaged or shut off.
When asked if Tesla maintained records or data before 2018 that kept track of the number of crashes that occurred per vehicle mile driven with the autopilot engaged, he replied simply, “No.”
That’s despite Tesla launching Autopilot almost 3 years prior. The jury will hear more of Phatak’s deposition today after Tesla attempted to keep it out of court over claims that it contains “sensitive trade secrets.”
Plaintiffs also challenged Tesla’s Autopilot safety report. We previously highlighted how Tesla suddenly stopped reporting the statistics and only started again a year later, while updating older data.
Dr. Mendel Singer testified on Tuesday and highlighted the discrepancy:
He noted that Tesla offered corrections to the vehicle safety report in January 2023 after finding some errors and miscounts. The crash data for when the autopilot was on stayed about the same, but the crash rate for when the autopilot was off went up by about 50% in the updated report, he said.
Mary Cummings, a professor and director of the Autonomy and Robotics Center at George Mason University and a longtime critic of Tesla’s self-driving efforts, is expected to testify today.
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General Motors and Redwood Materials are joining forces to take EV battery tech beyond the road and onto the grid. The two companies just signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding that sets the stage for turning both new and second-life GM batteries into energy storage systems to support the US’s rising electricity demand.
The collaboration aims to help the grid keep up with the surge in power-hungry applications, from AI data centers to electrified transport and industry.
“The market for grid-scale batteries and backup power isn’t just expanding, it’s becoming essential infrastructure,” said Kurt Kelty, GM’s VP of batteries, propulsion, and sustainability. “Electricity demand is climbing, and it’s only going to accelerate… GM batteries can play an integral role.”
Redwood launched a new venture in June called Redwood Energy that repurposes both new and used EV battery packs into fast and cost-effective energy storage systems. Today’s announcement allows Redwood to use second-life batteries from GM EVs and new GM battery modules to create US-built energy storage systems.
This isn’t just a future plan – it’s already happening. GM’s repurposed EV batteries are currently powering the biggest second-life battery project in the world. Located in Sparks, Nevada, Redwood’s 12MW/63MWh installation is also the largest microgrid in North America and supports Crusoe, an AI infrastructure company.
“Electricity demand is accelerating at an unprecedented pace,” said JB Straubel, Redwood’s founder and CEO. “Both GM’s second-life EV batteries and new batteries can be deployed in Redwood’s energy storage systems, delivering fast, flexible power solutions.”
And the timing couldn’t be better. AI data centers alone are expected to triple their share of US electricity use, from 4.4% in 2023 to 12% by 2028. That’s driving the urgent need for scalable, domestic energy storage.
GM and Redwood Materials say they’ll share more details on their plans later this year.
Read more: Arizona brings a huge grid battery online ahead of peak demand
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