Halloween is just a day away. Are you ready to sport all of your Rivian’s new Halloween features? Rivian added various features in their annual spooky update with Rivian update 2024.39. This year, Rivian has gone all out, with not one but three Halloween car costumes and various other features.
The car costumes are selectable through the Rivian app when the vehicle is parked - and so are all the other fun features.
Halloween Update
Rivian’s Halloween update this time is the biggest it's ever been. Before we dig into the Car Costumes, let’s take a look at the sprinkling of other spooky features they’ve provided.
New Drive Mode Animations
First up is the drive modes menu. Every drive mode in your vehicle has taken on a spooky look, so pan through your available drive modes while you’re parked to see all the Halloween fun. Look closely because some of the spooky surprises are well hidden. The only mode that doesn’t have a spooky surprise is snow mode.
Camp Mode also got a little something special. The flame of the campfire is lit by some witch’s evil magic and is burning green alongside some pumpkins and crows in the background. And just like last year, pedestrians are zombies - but that’s not all. Motorcyclists and bicyclists take on a new form in the visualization - they’ve come back as headless horsemen.
Rivian has also introduced two additional lock sounds for Halloween, an owl and a crow. While all of the Halloween goodies will go away once the season is over, Rivian has already said that the owl lock sound will come back as a standard lock sound in the future.
There are also two new interior lighting modes, the red Crimson Moon, and the green Foggy Bog. To go with that, there’s a new selection of three songs to play internally, as well as a sound effect board, all done from within the Rivian app.
The best plan is to play some spooky sound effects while your Rivian is parked outside on Halloween night to give some trick-or-treaters a fright!
The Costume Selector in the App
Rivian Wave
Knight Rider Car Costume
The Knight Rider costume dresses up Gear Guard Garry as Michael Knight and K.I.T.T.'s super intelligence takes over your car in the classic original TV show style. On Gen 2 vehicles, the lightbar up front will mimic K.I.T.T.’s unique red beam scanner, including the sound effect!
The Knight Rider interior screens
Rivian Wave
Over in the interior, you’ll get three unique displays inside your vehicle. On the driver’s display, you’ll see revs, speed, and a ton of other information, while the main display will tell you all about how ready K.I.T.T. is to tackle the bad guys. Finally, the passengers will have access to the tools K.I.T.T. has access to - everything from energy cannons and radars to Missiles and Turbo Boost.
Back to the Future Car Costume
Back to the Future dresses up Garry as none other than Doc Brown, and you’ll get a super cool set of movie-inspired interfaces on the inside of your vehicle. Gen 2 owners can hit the 88 mph button on their driver’s display and engage in Back to the Future-themed interior and exterior lighting, along with sound effects to match.
The Back to the Future Interior Screens
Rivian Wave
The driver’s display has all the information you’ll need to get your flux capacitor up and running, telling you all about the plutonium chamber and power you’ll need to hit 88 mph. The primary display will tell you when you’ve got your destination, what time it is now, and when you originally departed. The passengers get to keep an eye on the flux capacitor, and dial in the destination time!
Trunk or Treat Car Costume
Trunk or Treat has Garry as a scarecrow this year and has eight different sound effects and three color themes. That’s also alongside the option to select the thematic music for the interior of your vehicle.
All three interior screens will be haunted by ghosts and static, and Gen1 vehicle owners will get a green animation on the lightbar. Gen 2 owners will have their lightbar match their selected color.
Video Overviews
Jenna Ezarik over on X put together this awesome recap - so go take a look.
The moment Rivian fans have been waiting for is almost here. This Thursday, March 12, the California-based automaker will officially take the stage at SXSW 2026 in Austin, Texas, to unveil the production version of its highly anticipated R2 midsize SUV.
The R2 represents a make-or-break moment for the brand. Rivian is banking on this vehicle and its new autonomy stack to lead it to profitability by the end of 2026. Built on an entirely new, lighter platform, the R2 is designed to compete directly with the Tesla Model Y.
What to Expect
Based on insights from Rivian watcher @Hilbe, we have a solid idea of what to expect from the reveal. The highlight will be the automaker sharing the full specifications for the R2 and what variants it will be available in, along with the configurator launch, where we should see options for paint, wheels, and interior finishes.
Launch Configurations: The first trim to roll off the line is expected to be the dual-motor, all-wheel drive Launch Edition.
Pricing: While the R2 is rumored to start around $45,000 for the single-motor base model, the Launch Edition that’s supposed to kick off deliveries will likely carry a higher price tag.
Performance & Upgrades: Expect details on a performance upgrade for the 656-horsepower dual-motor setup, which hits 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds. There should also be an "All-Terrain" package and premium audio options.
Utility Features: Look for more info on the rear window that rolls into the tailgate and front seats that fold flat for car camping.
Tesla Compatibility: The R2 will feature a native NACS port, granting it access to Tesla Superchargers out of the box.
Rivian Wave
While the hype is high, there are some things you shouldn't count on seeing this Thursday. We aren't expecting immediate R2 deliveries, as volume production in Illinois isn't slated until mid-2026.
Additionally, don't expect current reservations to convert to firm orders just yet, nor should you expect R2 accessories to hit Rivian’s Gear Shop immediately. While the focus is strictly on the R2, Rivian could always surprise us with new glimpses of the R3 or R3X, though new models like an "R2T" or "R1X" remain unlikely for this specific event.
When is the Event
The R2 unveiling is scheduled for Thursday, March 12, 2026. This date is strategically chosen to pre-empt the start of Rivian's "Electric Roadhouse" showcase at SXSW, where the company will later offer public R2 rides to attendees.
The event is expected to start at 9:30 a.m. PT, which is the following times around the world:
9:30 a.m. Pacific Time
12:30 p.m. Eastern Time
4:30 p.m. UTC
4:30 p.m. — London, England
5:30 p.m. — Berlin, Germany
3:30 a.m. (next day) — Sydney, Australia
How to Watch
Rivian is expected to livestream the event directly from its SXSW hub in Austin. The company typically shares a link on its social media channels and website closer to the start time. We will add that link here as soon as it becomes available, so stay tuned for that and our full coverage of the R2 unveiling.
This event marks the beginning of Rivian's transition from a niche, high-end truck maker to a mass-market player. If the R2 lives up to the specs we've seen so far, the electric SUV market is about to get a lot more interesting.
Rivian has laid out a highly aggressive roadmap for the next chapter of its business. Presenting at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Thursday, Rivian’s executives detailed their strategic vision moving forward, focusing on the R2 platform, autonomous driving, and the financial runway provided by the Volkswagen Joint Venture.
While Rivian acknowledged the ongoing challenges of managing production costs and scaling internationally, the tone of the presentation was overwhelmingly focused on leveraging software and technology to reach profitability by the end of 2026.
R2 for Next-Gen
The R2 platform is the linchpin of Rivian's growth strategy. Designed to tackle a much larger, more affordable addressable market than the flagship R1 lineup, executives noted that capturing even a fraction of the market share they achieved with the R1 in this new segment would be a "home run beyond our wildest dreams.”
However, the R2 is more than just a smaller vehicle entering the lineup. Rivian described the new platform as a vessel for its advanced technology. It represents the company's next-generation electrical architecture and software stack, which is critical for the scale and profitability they’re looking for. This mid-size platform will also be the focus of Rivian's new plant in Georgia, which is intended to facilitate future exports to the European market.
Building Its Own Hardware
Perhaps the most significant change discussed during the conference was Rivian's dedication to developing its autonomous driving platform entirely in-house. Rather than relying on external suppliers or off-the-shelf software as it has done so far, Rivian is aggressively building its own autonomy stack to differentiate itself from other automakers.
Unlike Tesla, Rivian’s vehicles will be boasting a robust sensor suite, with Gen 2 vehicles equipped with 11 cameras, five radars, and upcoming LiDAR hardware in later revisions. By pulling driving data from these highly equipped customer vehicles, Rivian believes it has created a fleet capable of effectively gathering ground truth data in the real world.
Following the launch of hands-free RAP+ early last year, Rivian confirmed plans to introduce a highly advanced point-to-point autonomous system later this year.
Licensing Autonomy
This massive investment in electrical architecture and autonomy is not just for Rivian's own vehicles. Rivian is instead looking to be viewed as a modern technology provider for the automotive industry.
This strategy was validated by the $5.8 billion joint venture with the Volkswagen Group. Rivian sees a major opportunity to potentially license its autonomous hardware and software capabilities, in addition to its zonal electrical architecture, to other automakers that are struggling to keep pace with the transition to software-defined vehicles.
Financial Runway
To fund these ambitious technological leaps, Rivian appears to be on a stable financial footing. The company ended 2025 with $6.1 billion in cash reserves and anticipates an additional $2 billion infusion from Volkswagen during 2026. With the upcoming R2 launch, expanding tech partnerships, and a strict focus on cost reductions, Rivian executives reaffirmed their goal to achieve positive gross profit margins by the end of 2026.
This contrasts with recent analyst expectations from Bank of America, which has noted that Rivian is running on a tight financial leash to meet all its capital expenditures around the R2 and autonomy.
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