Clear-eyed Rivian and EV insights so you can fall in love with the electric future. Recovering tech founder. Stay curious.

Joined May 2008
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Here's the @Rivian R2 Launch Package breakdown šŸ§µšŸ‘‡ Colors at launch: - Esker Silver (free) - Launch Green - Catalina Cove - Half Moon Grey - Glacier White - Midnight - Forest Green (late availability) Note the lack of Borealis and free colors vs prior launch editions.
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Perhaps the raddest @Rivian R2 stickers around. Available in 5 colorways, limited quantities. shop.travisketchum.com/produ…
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Had a fun afternoon hanging out and chatting with a ton of excited @Rivian R2 people yesterday. This has original Gen1 energy, but priced for mid market.
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The @Rivian Recap is loaded and ready. - First drive R2 impressions - Ride quality and hardware differences - Missing software and audio quality notes - R2 leases are... 🫣 - Autonomy roadmap comes into view Hits your inbox at 4pm Pacific. rivianrecap.com
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Travis Ketchum retweeted
Planning full thoughts on demo drive on @Rivian R2 drive tomorrow but the one thing I didn’t like is the Turn Signal Sound, it’s overly loud. Really hoping @WassymBensaid gives some configurability to adjust volume. Not sure why we didn’t keep R1 sound which was great. āœŒļø
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If you're weighing lease vs finance for the @Rivian R2, the numbers tell you everything you need to know. Financing can save you $8,836 over a 36 month term. Neither offer is particularly good, which is expected given the outsized demand.
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This week's @Rivian Recap is going to have my first drive impressions of R2, as well the quirky things we've learned about it. Deal analysis, better resolution on the autonomy roadmap, and what's going on with software? Hits Friday at 4pm Pacific. rivianrecap.com
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I echo much of this during my test drive today. Software is playing catch up, supposedly completing features over 4-8 weeks. Audio ranged from what I’d say was 7/10 for some songs and volumes… to a 4/10 at higher volumes. Packaging overall is A .
My Thoughts on R2 after my time with it! Short review! First, @Rivian completely nailed this thing. I love the positioning of the driver seats. That long front nose gives a nice commanding feel. They will sell each and every one of these! Driving impression/suspension: 9/10 I felt the vehicle has good build quality. It felt *tight* and secure. Power delivery was smooth and crisp in all-purpose. Sport mode fella unlocked and ready for all the fun things. Power is rapid and consistent with a full power moment around 35-40mph, all the power is there. There is a good amount of nose rise during a hard acceleration. But I do feel the suspension was working well to control this. Remember this isn’t an air suspension. It’s a coil suspension. There is a difference between the suspension setting soft was SOFT. Firm was stiff but not overly stiff. It didn’t have that bouncing effect that some vehicles can have when going into firm suspension. Moderate was a good balance. I wish it could be more adaptive in moderate but it’s very very good. Turn in was good, and the turning radius was excellent. Switching from D to R for a 3-point turn was smooth and quick, no jerkiness. Very good control over entrance to parking lots. Stable. Lastly, it feels like the small delay some R1 have in throttle is gone with R2. Software: 8/10 This is where you guys know I am hard on them on. Because I want the best they can give. Rivian OS2.0 is a HUGE upgrade over R1. In all cases. Responsiveness, touch input, speed, app switching, keyboard responsiveness, etc., it is a huge difference. I love the new ā€œfish stickā€ bar. And settings being available with one tap and being app-dependent first is fantastic. Well done @WassymBensaid, the halo are great. The only thing about them is while driving, it’s hard to get a direct click, especially when trying to use it to switch drive modes where you have to push towards you. The halo likes the spin/move, but I think I just need to get used to it. Living with it would for sure help with that. I’m really hoping they fully unlock customization for them. You can end up with 8 different characters you could adjust. I really like having the driver display. But driving with it, you can notice how much smaller it is compared to R1. It’s no deal breaker, but it’s noticeable. Cameras felt snapper and of higher quality over Gen 2 R1. The turn signal sounds is new I like it as well as the forward and Evers noise it makes. Think Tesla sound when shifting. Audio: Now I’ve experienced R2 3x now. With 2 times with audio. The audio was significantly better than when I got to sit it in, in Miami for a block party. It’s about as good as R1 is now. There did feel like a sub was there. That’s great. I used my Apple Music account so I could listen to the song I love. And it was great. Not perfect but good enough. Long as it’s comparable to R1, it’s okay. Cabin: It was very well appointed. I actually found it sufficiently quiet. 🤫 I think for sure it’s quieter than my R1T without question. The HVAC system design (air vent) I like better than R1. I feel like the HVAC system now can blow the air on better than trying to. I need more time to test preconditioning because that’s where I’ve seen most of the issues with my R1 vehicles. Tons of space, easy to drop the seats, it’s flat, and nice under-floor space. The 1-touch drop for all windows was excellent. Overall: I think this is the Rivian everyone has been waiting for. This will be a fantastic one-car solution for so many families. There is storage for days, off-road abilities a Model Y can’t even think of doing, but the UHF needs to improve quicker than it currently is because that is really becoming a buying decision for people. Tim and I can’t wait to take delivery of our R2 Rivian; we are ready! Feel free to ask me anything about the R2! I’ll do my best to answer it or get you the answer. It’s a 10/10 for so many people.
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At these rates, you're paying $14,568 in interest on a 36 month lease. 🫣 travisketchum.com/lease-calc…
With the launch of @Rivian R2 "underway" as of this week, we finally have lease and finance numbers. As expected, the residual is solid but the money factor is... rough. The effective APR of the lease is 9.62% 😬 Finance is 5.79% and in-line with Tesla MYP.
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With the launch of @Rivian R2 "underway" as of this week, we finally have lease and finance numbers. As expected, the residual is solid but the money factor is... rough. The effective APR of the lease is 9.62% 😬 Finance is 5.79% and in-line with Tesla MYP.
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Check out the full breakdown, you're paying $14,568 in interest over 36 months for a lease. Ooph. travisketchum.com/lease-calc…
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The signature Tom wheel shot!
Demo drives for the Rivian R2 have begun!! I got to do the first one for Orlando in this awesome Launch Green Dual Performance spec, and of course I couldn’t leave without a wheel shot heheh The build quality is astounding especially for such an early batch of a brand new car!
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Pet mode won't be available in @Rivian R2 for a month after launch. Just something to be aware of.
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I think @Rivian may want to update their demo drive survey for R2 āœŒļø
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The big one? Huge driver assist upgrades. Hands-free*: lane centering, triggered lane changes, and automatic lane changes. You can set auto lane changes between conservative or assertive for frequency. Improved visualizations. *Pre-mapped divided hwys only.
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A host of other quality of life improvements, such as: - Startup speed - Auto lock/unlock - Mirror tilt control - Halo Drive recorder access Notably, phone as a key for Gravity is missing.
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Next, smarter energy management. Improved pre-conditioning, better predictive power delivery, clearer trip data, and a more balanced energy saver mode.
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Next up is my favorite feature on modern cars (@Rivian kills it at this): Matrix high beams. Keep your high beams on in more places and "cut out" the addd light around surrounding cars. Requires Dream Drive Premium or Dream Drive Pro.
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