Tornadoes knocked out my home power for days, but my Rivian became a backup energy savior
The title says it all. Heavy thunderstorms and tornadoes ripped through the Midwest Thursday evening, leaving thousands of homes without power or internet. Luckily, my home dodged severe damage, but I was without power and internet for days. Luckily, I had my Rivian R1S in the garage that I used as a backup energy source, which I documented below (because I honestly had nothing else to do without power and internet).
You may or may not (probably not) have noticed that I was MIA from the Electrek homepage last Friday. That’s because the night before, around 10 PM, my neighborhood was hit with one of the nastiest storms I’ve seen in quite some time. By about 10:30 PM, my home’s power and internet were knocked out, and I’d come to find I wouldn’t be back online on the grid or the web until Sunday.
Multiple tornadoes, mangling trees, boats, and power lines, touched down nearby. In that sense, I was pretty lucky as all I had were some dead fallen branches, a couple of backyard items tipped over, and a pool cover with another pool’s worth of water sitting atop it.
Still, I was without power or internet, and my home used a well pump, so there were no showers or toilets either. Fun!
I’m a millennial who grew up before and after widespread ISPs and smartphones, so I can deal with the lack of internet and the fact that we decided not to purchase a backup generator (although hearing all the neighbors’ humming with lights aglow did strike a nerve of envy each night). My genuine concern, however, was the fridges and freezers.
We had two fridges full of food, and one freezer had just been stocked with an entire box of Farmer’s Dog for our pooch Lily. If you’ve ever ordered Farmer’s Dog, you know that it is EXPENSIVE. So, letting it all thaw out and spoil was not an option. We needed backup power fast, so I turned to my Rivian R1S.
It delivered to the fullest.
My Rivian gave me days of seamless backup power
I want to start by saying I’ve only had my Rivian for a few months, so I don’t have a holistic home energy management system in place. Therefore, I couldn’t use the R1S as backup power for my entire home, but that was fine, to be honest.
The Rivian provided all the necessary backup power I needed for vital appliances and electronics, with plenty of additional energy leftover when the lights inevitably came back on.
As you can see from the diagram above, the Rivian R1S offers a slew of power ports to fit various needs, whether it’s while driving, out in the wild, or providing backup power to your home. To power my garage fridge (with the dog food in the freezer), I simply ran an extension cord from the truck’s rear 120V plug through the garage and plugged in the fridge directly.
It was as simple as that. It was music to my ears when the fridge lit up inside and began to hum. Lily’s food was still frozen solid, and my beers were still cold to the touch. What a win. I also moved several essential food items and medications from the kitchen into the garage to prevent them from spoiling.
As you can see from the image above, I also set my Rivian on a timer for backup energy, allowing at least two days of full use to ensure the fridge stayed on. At the same time, I used the backup power stored in my Rivian to charge devices like my phone, watch, and smaller portable battery packs.
I could have plugged in a lot more, and will keep that in mind if and when there’s another blackout, but the Rivian provided more than enough backup energy for what I needed. When it was all said and done, I only drained about 25 miles of range from the battery after powering my fridge and other devices for days.
Not only was I impressed by how much stored energy I had at my disposal, but it was also incredible how easily I could access the BEV’s two 120V plugs and abundant USB-C ports.
Thank you, Rivian, for helping me keep Lily’s food frozen. You don’t want to see her without her Farmer’s Dog. It’s ugly.
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Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has posted another interesting facet into the design of the American automaker’s upcoming R2 BEVs. As you’ll see below, the Rivian R2’s body harness has been significantly reduced in size, weight, and connections to enable lower assembly costs and an overall more environmentally friendly build.
If you’re not following RJ Scaringe on social media, you’re missing out. While some CEOs shy away from social media (aside from the guy who bought Twitter to create his own toxic echo chamber), Rivian’s founder has used such platforms to share interesting company progress.
In the past month, much of Scaringe’s content has pertained to the design and development of Rivian’s upcoming R2 model, and we have been all about it. In the past two weeks, RJ has shared a peek at the company’s new Maximus drive unit and photos of the R2 validation builds on a pilot line at the automaker’s facility in Normal, Illinois.
Last week, Scaringe took to Instagram and X once again to share a better look at the inner workings of the Maximus drive unit. The unit was designed to be more compact and efficiently built to help reduce the cost-per-unit production for the Rivian R2 assembly process.
Today, RJ posted more evidence of how much more optimized components of the R2 design will be.
The body harness design of the R2 is significantly simpler
RJ posted the comparison image above to Instagram this afternoon, detailing just how much more streamlined the R2’s body harness design will be compared to the Gen 2 R1 BEVs. The Rivian CEO elaborated with the following caption:
The R2 harness improves massively over the R1 Gen 2 harness. Building on the backbone of our network architecture and zonal ECUs, we focused on ease of install in the plant and overall simplification through integrated design — less wires, less clips and far fewer splices!
Simplified indeed, this reimagined body harness cuts serious weight and connectors. The front section of the body harness, in particular, truly encapsulates just how streamlined the R2’s design components are becoming. A body harness pic may not be the most exciting news to the general public, but as a BEV enthusiast on the Rivian beat, it’s amazing to see, and we hope RJ will continue to post updates like this going forward.
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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon delivers a speech during the Global Markets Conference, ahead of the Choose France summit, in Paris, on May 15, 2025.
Michel Euler | Afp | Getty Images
JPMorgan Chase is finally allowing clients to buy bitcoin. But CEO Jamie Dimon is still a skeptic.
“We are going to allow you to buy it,” Dimon said at the bank’s annual investor day on Monday. “We’re not going to custody it. We’re going to put it in statements for clients.”
The decision marks a notable step for the largest U.S. bank, particularly due to Dimon’s history of criticizing the digital currency and the crypto market broadly, and is the latest sign of bitcoin’s entry into mainstream investing. Since August, Morgan Stanley has allowed its financial advisors to pitch some spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds to qualifying clients.
Dimon made it clear that his personal view of bitcoin remains unchanged, highlighting issues like money laundering and the lack of clarity surrounding ownership, along with “the sex trafficking, the terrorism.”
“I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke,” Dimon said. “I defend your right to buy bitcoin.”
A JPMorgan spokesperson declined to elaborate on the bank’s specific plans for bitcoin access. Until now, the company has limited its crypto exposure primarily to futures-based products, not direct ownership of bitcoin.
When crypto valuations were soaring in 2021, Dimon dismissed bitcoin as “worthless.” He told lawmakers during a Senate hearing in late 2023 that he’s “always been deeply opposed to crypto, bitcoin, etc.,” and that, “The only true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers … money laundering, tax avoidance.” He said at the hearing that, “If I was the government, I’d close it down.”
At the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Dimon said, “Bitcoin does nothing. I call it the pet rock.” He added that, “This is the last time I’m talking about the with CNBC, so help me God.”
Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick told CNBC at this year’s event in Davos that the investment bank is exploring ways to deepen its involvement in cryptocurrency markets, navigating the regulatory landscape under the pro-crypto administration of President Donald Trump.
Since President Trump took office in January, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have rescinded their anti-crypto guidance. While banks can now custody crypto, thanks to the repeal of an accounting rule called SAB 121, they still face restrictions on working directly with crypto firms without explicit approval from the Federal Reserve.
Genesis is preparing to introduce its new flagship EV, the GV90. The brand’s largest, most luxurious electric SUV already looks stunning. The Genesis GV90 was spotted with less camo ahead of its debut, giving us a sneak peek of the “ultra-luxe” EV.
Genesis GV90 EV sheds camo during testing
We got our first look at the flagship Genesis model last March with the Neolun concept, a preview of its first full-size electric SUV.
Inspired by Korea’s iconic moon-shaped porcelain jars, the Neolun Concept is “the epitome of timeless design and sophisticated craftsmanship,” according to the luxury brand’s creative officer, Luc Donckerwolke. Genesis calls it “the ultra-luxe vision of luxury SUVs.”
The GV90 is not just a stunning-looking vehicle. It will also serve as a tech beacon for Genesis with Hyundai Motor’s most advanced software and tech, including a massive 24.6″ infotainment.
This is all great, but the feature that caught the most attention was GV90’s coach doors. Ahead of its debut, we’ve seen the GV90 out in the wild for testing a few times, including with coach doors.
Genesis claims B-pillarless coach doors are now feasible in production vehicles, hinting they will be offered on the production model. However, the feature is expected to only be offered on higher-priced trims.
Most recently, the Genesis GV90 EV was caught by the folks at SH Proshots testing at the Nürburgring with notably less camo. The new images (via TheKoreanCarBlog) give us our best look at the flagship electric SUV, and it already looks like a stunner.
A few design elements, like the two-line LED headlamps, are shown, while you can see a good outline of the vehicle’s profile.
Like the concept, the GV90 appears to retain its minimalistic design shown in the Neolun concept. With an extended wheelbase, you can clearly see the size difference compared to its other EVs, like the GV60 or Electrified GV70.
The full-size electric SUV is expected to be the first Hyundai Motor model to ride on the new eM platform, which is set to replace the current E-GMP underpinning current Kia, Hyundai, and Genesis EVs.
Although production was slated to begin later this year at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant in South Korea, a recent report from The Korea Economic Daily claims Hyundai’s new development plan now calls for it to begin in June 2026.
Prices and final specs will be revealed closer to launch, but the GV90 is expected to start at around 100 million won ($80,000) in Korea. More premium trims could cost over 200 million won ($160,000).
Source: TheKoreanCarBlog, SH Proshots
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