Rivian unveils R2 electric SUV: surprises with cheaper price and a ‘one more thing’
Rivian has unveiled the R2 electric SUV, its next-generation electric vehicle, and there were a few surprises despite some leaks before the unveiling.
We also got a very interesting “one more thing” moment.
We already knew a great deal about the R2 thanks to a few leaks over the last week.
The leak, which came straight from the code on Rivian’s website, mentioned a range of “up to 330 miles”, a starting price of “$47,000”, an acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds, and “coming in 2026”.
Today, Rivian held the actual unveiling event, and we saw the R2 in full for the first time. It’s our first complete look at the design, and an interesting update at the specs and pricing compared to the leak.
Rivian R2 Design
In terms of the design, if you are familiar with the R1S, the car is going to look very familiar to you.
Rivian has clearly decided to stick with its design language, which has already been successful with the R1S, the best-selling vehicle over $70,000 in the US.
Rivian is doubling down its main design differentiator: its vertical headlights.
R2 has a significant front trunk, or frunk, that appears to be of significant size:
One of the main new exterior design features is a roll-down rear window enabling larger objects to fit in the back.
The rear quarter windows can also open at an angle for better aerodynamic performance with airflow:
The charge port is on the rear passenger side as you can see in the picture above.
Electrek’s Jamie Dow was able to open it after the unveiling event – showing only a NACS connector in there.
As for the interior of the Rivian R2, there are a few interesting features. For example, you get not one but two gloveboxes:
The response that RJ Scaringe, Rivian’s CEO, received from the crowd after this announcement was surprisingly enthusiastic.
Another difference from the existing R1S/R1T design is the removal of the speakers in the doors, leaving more space for storage, and of course, it wouldn’t be a Rivian without a flashlight:
The interior design does look sharp and similar to what we are already used to with the R1S/R1T, albeit a little less luxurious, which is unsurprising.
Rivian also showed that the back seats and both front seat fold completely flat:
When it comes to the cockpit, Rivian is leveraging the existing design and user interface of the R1S/R1T with a slightly different twist for the more compact R2.
While the cockpit looks familiar, it does have a brand new steering wheel with “integrated haptic control dials”. You can see the scrolls on each side. They are massive.
The front seats do seem like a bigger downgrade from the very luxurious situation that you would find in R1S/R1T
Rivian R2 Specs
In terms of specs, the Rivian R2 is delivering on virtually everything.
Rivian announced over 300 miles (483 km) of range for all variants, which will include single motor RWD, dual motor AWD and tri-motor AWD.
The leak from Rivian’s website earlier this week did mention “up to 330 miles” of range.
The tri-motor version will get from 0 to 60 mph in “less than 3 seconds”, which is bringing the SUV into supercar territory.
As for the dimensions, the vehicle is virtually the same size as the Tesla Model Y, the best-selling vehicle in the world. It’s pretty clear what market Rivian is going after here.
Here’s a size comparison with the R2’s bigger brother, the R1S:
Rivian also announced hands-free and attention free autonomous diving on highways coming to the R2.
That would make the vehicle level 3 self-driving.
Now, Rivian didn’t talk about timing for that. It’s not clear if it’s going to be available at launch or through future software updates, but the automaker did release the planned hardware suite:
Rivian is also planning a series of new accessories to enable more adventure with the R2.
The R2 is also enabled by a new vehicle platform powered by a new 4695 battery cell format:
Tesla has been pioneering the use of large cylindrical battery cells in its vehicles with the 4680, which has been replicated by several other automakers.
Rivian is going a step further with an even bigger 4695 cell – 15 mm taller than Tesla’s.
Rivian R2 Price and Availability
The earlier leak suggested a $47,000 starting price for the R2, but at the unveiling, RJ actually announced a starting price of $45,000. That’s a nice surprise.
If that’s before incentive, which it sounds like it is, it is a very aggressive price – making the vehicle competitive with several other electric SUVs in the segment, including the previously mentioned best-selling car in the world: the Model Y.
Rivian aims to bring the vehicle to market in “the first half of 2026”. RJ said that Rivian is accelerating the R2 program timeline by starting production at its existing Normal, IL, factory rather than the upcoming Georgia factory, which RJ insisted is still in the plans.
Electrek’s Take
This hits the mark on many levels. It has great pricing for the specs and many different powertrain options to suit everyone’s needs. A few differentiating features and
I know some are not pleased with the design – calling it a carbon copy of the R1S, but it’s a proven successful design language and it’s nothing new for companies to keep with a strong design that carries across its lineup. Think of companies like Volvo.
Honestly, the biggest negative of this vehicle is that it can’t come soon enough. 2026 is still 2 years away, and the market can change a lot during that time.
But Rivian needs that time to get its house in order and show that it can produce the R1S/R1T profitably before moving in to cheaper vehicles.
Speaking of cheaper vehicles, RJ had a Steve Jobs “one more thing” moment at the R2 unveiling.
He also unveiled the Rivian R3 and R3X: a smaller hatchback with a similar design as the R2, and its performance sibling with wider wheels and a more aggressive design presented as its own model.
Pricing and availability were not released for those models.
I do really like the R3. It’s kind of a Gremlin mix with an IONIQ 5. The R3X has clear rally car vibes.
That said, I do get worried about Rivian spreading itself thin with 2.5 new vehicle programs.
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Tesla shareholders will decide whether to give CEO Elon Musk a stock award that could be worth up to $1 trillion. But another proposal is up for a vote to refill Tesla’s employee stock option pool, and it’s only necessary because that pool was drained to give Musk a payday larger than any other CEO in the history of the world.
(This article is largely excerpted from my previous post, Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay day gets more ridiculous the more you look into it. For more detail on the various absurdities of the award, click through to read more).
One of the questions being asked on Thursday is whether or not to refill Tesla’s “general share reserve” of shares set aside to be granted to employees as compensation. This is known as “Proposal 3” – the $1 trillion award is Proposal 4.
Proposal 3 not only fills the general share reserve with 60 million shares as compensation for Tesla’s current and future employees (of which the company currently numbers ~120,000 strong), but also fills a “special share reserve” with nearly 208 million shares for one single part-time employee, Elon Musk, who mostly focuses on companies other than Tesla (and whose interests can be directly opposed to Tesla’s).
The board would be able to give these shares, currently worth around $97 billion, to Musk at their discretion. This could happen without further shareholder approval and is not attached to any milestones, unlike the $1 trillion.
Tesla has used shares as an important part of its compensation packages for employees throughout its history, so if it is unable to pay employees in shares, it will have a harder time attracting talent. But it can’t do so anymore, because the reserve has been drained.
This is one of many issues brought up by several pension funds who named their concerns with the shareholder proposals. Normally, it would seem reasonable to split up the “general” and “special” share reserve votes, but Tesla has seen it fit to combine the two – such that if you want Tesla to be able to compensate employees with shares, you must also accept that Musk will have 3.5x as many shares set aside for him personally as will be set aside for every other employee at the company combined.
It must feel incredibly insulting for the engineers who actually design the cars, the manufacturing associates who build them, the software team that continues to improve the best software out there, the best-in-the-biz charging team, et cetera, to see a guy who spends most of his time working for other companies (or pretending to be good at video games on his private jet) and be told that he’s worth hundreds of thousands of times more than you are.
Even worse, the reason this vote is necessary is because the share reserve was only drained… to pay Elon Musk.
When Musk’s friends on the Tesla board decided to hand him an “Interim Award” of $26 billion without a shareholder vote, the process through which they did this was to simply award shares to Musk that had previously been set aside in Tesla’s share reserve.
Those shares had been intended to be available for years to come, as compensation for employees, to help Tesla attract and compensate talent (as the heartstring-tugging videos above suggest). But instead, almost the entire reserve was drained to give to Musk, with only one stipulation: that he continue working at Tesla for two years.
But that’s only part of the shares that Musk would get if these shareholder votes pass, because those 208 million shares aren’t even associated with the separate $1 trillion award in Proposal 4, which would include over 423 million shares. So now we’re up to 630+ million shares for Musk (~276B at current TSLA valuation), and only 60 million for every other employee at Tesla combined, being voted on at this shareholder meeting.
And even if proposal 4 is voted down, if proposal 3 passes, the board could still give Musk $97 billion worth of stock, and it’s holding employees’ compensation hostage to ensure that it be able to do so.
Electrek’s Take
I wanted to split this off as its own article because I consider this to be the most egregious portion of the various ridiculous proposals in front of Tesla shareholders this week. That last article was long, so I understand why some might not have gotten through it – so above is what I consider one of the juiciest parts.
There are plenty of other ridiculous things that will be voted on – whether to retain board members who are completely captured and working in Musk’s favor rather than the company’s, whether or not Tesla shareholders should bail out Musk’s private AI company which he started to compete with his own public AI company and has continually stolen resources from it for, and of course the absurd trillion-dollar award that Musk wants so he can control a robot army.
But this, I think, is exceptional. Not only does the vote value a bad, part-time employee as worth 3.5x as much as every other employee combined; not only does it hold those employees’ compensation hostage against the compensation of said bad employee; but it’s only necessary because of that bad employee was given more money than any other employee in the history of employment, by an order of magnitude, and the source of that money was a pool of shares that had been set aside for Tesla’s actual employees, who aren’t currently on a mission to destroy Tesla’s brand in every way possible.
And somehow, Tesla, Elon, and his friends, have the gall to put in so much effort into marketing this proposal, and suggesting that this is the best path forward for the company, and even for the world, and to suggest that anyone who correctly points out the absurdity of this idea is a “terrorist.”
Kafka couldn’t write this.
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Environment
Verge unveils wild-looking TS Pro electric motorcycle with hubless motor, longer range, and faster charging
Verge Motorcycles just took the wraps off the next evolution of its flagship Verge TS Pro electric motorcycle at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, revealing a dramatically upgraded version of its best-selling model. And we’re here to see it firsthand.
The Verge TS Pro first hit the scene in 2022 as a futuristic, hubless-wheeled electric motorcycle packed with power and sleek styling. Now, the company is doubling down with a lighter, more refined, and more powerful version of the TS Pro that improves nearly every aspect of the bike’s design and performance.
At the heart of the upgrade is Verge’s eye-catching hubless Donut Motor 2.0. The patented motor still pumps out a massive 1,000 Nm of torque, but now weighs 50% less, contributing to a total motorcycle weight of 507 lbs (230 kg). That power translates to a 0–60 mph (0-96 km/h) time of 3.5 seconds.
Alongside the motor upgrade, Verge added a new 20.2 kWh battery that delivers up to 217 miles (350 km) of range and supports ultra-fast charging, adding 60 miles (96 km) of range in just 15 minutes. Verge says full charging takes under 35 minutes, and the bike now supports CCS fast charging in Europe and NACS in the US.
Verge also introduced a series of rider-focused upgrades. The TS Pro now sports larger displays, an improved user interface, and better Bluetooth connectivity through its Verge HMI system. The riding posture has been made more ergonomic with a 25-degree angle adjustment, while suspension and damping tweaks promise a smoother ride.
Software takes center stage with the inclusion of Verge’s Starmatter platform, first launched in 2023. Starmatter combines AI, sensors, and OTA updates to tailor each ride and future-proof the bike for new features, no wrenching required.
The updated Verge TS Pro is available for reservation now via Verge’s website and US showrooms, with test rides starting in early 2026. Pricing information to be updated soon.
Electrek’s Take
Verge’s first hubless electric motorcycle took the internet by storm and launched a new style of design. Now the company is showing that its playbook of electric motorcycle innovation is still alive and well. Between the hubless motor tech, blazing-fast charging, and tech-forward design, the TS Pro feels both futuristic and realistic. Sure, it’s still limited in highway range like all electric motorcycles, but for mixed riding, that 20+ kWh pack is going to help alleviate range anxiety – and is twice as large as the pack in my LiveWire, for example.
This is one I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on.
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