Here’s how Rivian is using software to scale past EV rivals
EV startup Rivian is racing past many rivals with its all-electric adventure vehicles. Yet, what many may not know is that the technology inside a Rivian is just as alluring as the design. Rivian is using software to gain an advantage over the competition.
Rivian took a page from Tesla in designing and building its electric vehicles from the ground up, with a focus on software.
Although it’s a costly strategy, it has given Rivian an advantage as it scales production. “It’s a fantastic advantage because starting from a clean slate allows us to learn from the successes but also the mistakes of others,” explained Wassym Bensaid, Rivian’s VP of software development.
Bensaid said in an interview with MotorTrend that “having the ability to configure every piece of hardware in the entire vehicle through software was one of the main considerations” from day one.
Rivian consistently pushes updates to its vehicles, adding new features like camp mode and snow mode, navigation improvements, added range, improved ride quality, and more.
As Bensaid explains, building Rivian vehicles as a “fully integrated end-to-end” device is helping it overcome one of the biggest challenges in the industry.
Legacy automakers, including Volkswagen, have learned developing and managing software is critical in the digital era. He said the biggest disruptions in the industry “rely heavily on software, and this requires a fundamental approach” to development.
Software is helping Rivian scale past EV rivals
“It’s a new reality where software is the center of the vehicle experience,” Bernsaid said in the interview.
In the new connected, digital era, “The auto industry has struggled to cope with multiple hardware configurations,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rivian has focused on scalability since day one. Its software has been a “key differentiator” as it expands, according to Bensaid.
For example, all three Rivian EVs run on the same software, the R1T, R1S, and EDV. By running different configurations rather than an entirely new stack, Rivian is streamlining the process.
The EV maker delivered 15,564 vehicles in the third quarter, up 24% from Q2 and easily beating expectations. Production also rose 17% quarter-over-quarter to 16,304 units. Following the strong performance, Rivian raised its 2023 production goal to 54,000, up 2,000 from its previous target.
The growth comes amid several automakers, including Ford and GM, delaying EV investments. Lucid also cut its 2023 production target after deliveries and production failed to gain traction.
With most of its software built in-house, Rivian has an advantage. The EV maker can push updates to its vehicles quickly. It also enables Rivian to focus on what matters most to drivers.
“Our vehicle knows the best EV range based on the habits of the driver, the suspension and ride-height position, the driving mode, weather, temperature, and the battery health” that’s continuously calibrated through software, Bensaid said.
Electrek’s Take
Scaringe said on the company’s earnings call earlier this week that vertically integrating its in-house computers, software stack, and propulsion system is a “substantial competitive advantage.”
While legacy automakers like Volkswagen have delayed important EVs, including the electric Porsche Macan and Audi Q6 e-tron, over software, Rivian is using it to its advantage.
The company will take what it’s learned in ramping the R1 platform to make its second-gen models even more efficient. Rivian will reveal its R2 platform next year, which will be built at its new facility in Georgia. Rivian will be a company to watch over the next few quarters as it expands the brand.
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Rondo Energy and energy producer EDP are installing a massive 100 MWh renewable-powered heat battery at HEINEKEN’s brewery in Lisbon, Portugal. The project will deliver round-the-clock renewable steam and reduce emissions without altering the facility’s beer brewing process.
Brewing HEINEKEN with zero-carbon steam
The Rondo Heat Battery (RHB) will be the biggest deployed in the beverage industry worldwide. It can store electricity as high-temperature heat using refractory bricks, then convert that heat into 24/7 steam, all without burning fossil fuels.
At HEINEKEN’s Central de Cervejas e Bebidas Brewery and Malting Plant, the heat battery system will supply 7 MW of steam, powered by renewable electricity from onsite solar and the grid. That steam is identical to steam created by gas-fired boilers, but without the carbon pollution.
EDP is providing the renewable electricity and will deliver the steam directly to HEINEKEN via a Heat-as-a-Service model. Rondo is supplying the battery, and HEINEKEN gets to ditch fossil fuels without retooling its brewing process.
Why this matters
This project is a big win for industrial decarbonization. High-temperature steam is one of the most complex parts of manufacturing to electrify, and the beer industry runs on it. HEINEKEN’s Lisbon site already uses solar panels for electricity and electric heat pumps for hot water, and this move helps it go even further.
It’s part of HEINEKEN’s “Brew a Better World” plan to hit net zero emissions by 2040 and decarbonize all of its global production sites by 2030.
Additionally, the deployment aligns with Portugal’s national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.
The bigger picture
With the European Investment Bank and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst backing this and other Rondo projects with €75 million in funding, this Lisbon installation is just the beginning. Rondo’s technology enables energy-hungry industries to switch from fossil fuels to renewable electricity without compromising 24/7 operations.
Rondo CEO Eric Trusiewicz sums it up: “We are thrilled to be installing our first Rondo Heat Battery in Iberia, and to support HEINEKEN to reach its goals. We look forward to helping industries across Iberia cut costs and carbon, and help Iberia capitalize on the opportunity.”
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Lucid Group (LCID) reported third-quarter earnings after the market closed on Wednesday, missing top and bottom-line estimates.
With 4,078 vehicles delivered in Q3, Lucid marked its seventh straight quarter with higher deliveries. Through the first nine months of 2025, Lucid delivered nearly 10,500 vehicles, more than the roughly 10,200 it handed over in 2024.
Although supply chain issues hampered production in the first half of the year, Lucid’s CEO Marc Winterhoff said the company made “significant progress ramping production of the Lucid Gravity through Q3,” including adding a second manufacturing shift at its Casa Grande, Arizona, plant.
Lucid produced 3,891 vehicles in Q3, missing estimates of around 5,600. With 9,966 EVs produced through the third quarter, Lucid will need to build over 8,000 more to meet its full-year production goal of 18,000 to 20,000.
According to estimates, Lucid is expected to report an adjusted quarterly loss of $2.27 per share on revenue of $352 million in Q3 2025.
Lucid Group Q3 2025 earnings breakdown
Lucid missed top and bottom-line estimates as it continues to address industry-wide supply chain issues that are hampering production of the Gravity SUV.
Although it missed estimates, Lucid reported Q3 revenue of $336.6 million, which is still up 68% from $200 million in the same period last year.
Lucid’s net loss narrowed to $978.4 million in the third quarter, or $3.31 per share, from $992.5 million, or $4.09 per share, in Q3 2024. On an adjusted basis, Lucid posted a loss of $2.65 per share.
In addition, Lucid said it agreed with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to increase the delayed draw term loan credit facility (DDTL) from $750 million to around $2 billion.
Given the increase, Lucid said total liquidity would have been around $5.5 billion at the end of Q3, up from the $4.2 billion it reported. Lucid ended the third quarter with $1.6 billion in cash and equivalents.
Lucid said liquidity is enough to fund it through the first half of 2027, up from the second half of 2026, as previously forecast. Lucid plans to launch production of its more affordable midsize platform in late 2026 with vehicles starting at around $50,000.
Lucid confirmed it was still on track to start production of the midsize platform later next year. However, given the supply chain issues, it now expects to hit the lower end of its production goal at around 18,000.
Winterhoff said the company “remains intensely focused on ramping up production and addressing the significant supply chain disruptions impacting the entire industry.”
Lucid is advancing other emerging tech, including autonomy and intelligent mobility. Through a new partnership with NVIDIA, Lucid aims to be among the first to offer Level 4 autonomous driving.
The third-quarter earnings miss comes after Rivian (RIVN) beat expectations this week, reporting higher revenue and improving gross margins.
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Robinhood beat Wall Street expectations for the third quarter on Wednesday, extending a hot streak that has made it one of the biggest large-cap U.S. tech stocks this year.
Here is how Robinhood’s results compared to Wall Street estimates, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 61cents vs. 53 cents expected
- Revenue: $1.27 billion vs. $1.19 billion expected
Revenue doubled year-over-year, while net income climbed to $556 million, or 61 cents per share, up significantly from the same quarter last year, when the company posted net income of $150 million, or 17 cents per share.
Transaction-based revenue, which is a proxy for trading activity, came in at $730 million, below StreetAccount’s $739 million estimate.
“Q3 was another strong quarter of profitable growth, and we continued to diversify our business, adding two more business lines — Prediction Markets and Bitstamp — that are generating approximately $100 million or more in annualized revenues,” finance chief Jason Warnick said in the release.
Robinhood is closing the gap with Coinbase as it pushes beyond retail trading into full-scale wealth management. The company has been aggressively offering deposit matches to lure clients from Fidelity and Schwab, and assets under management have grown with its TradePMR acquisition.
Robinhood year-to-date stock chart.
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