Rivian is officially making its extreme performance ambitions known with the launch of the Rivian Adventure Department, or RAD, for short. What began as a quiet, internal skunkworks team of dedicated designers and engineers has now been formalized into a specialized division tasked with pushing Rivian’s vehicles to their absolute limits.
RAD becomes essentially an AMG, ///M, or GT equivalent inside of @Rivian.
Sounds like we can expect future models to carry the RAD name as a trim level. Think “R1T RAD” perhaps.
By validating the hardware and software in some of the most unforgiving environments on Earth, RAD aims to translate some of the lessons learned from high-performance motorsports directly into exciting consumer features.
From the Desert to Pikes Peak
The roots of the RAD initiative trace back to Rivian’s earliest days, including the grueling 13,000-mile prototype journey from Patagonia to Los Angeles during the filming of the Long Way Up documentary. Since then, the internal passion project has evolved through rigorous real-world motorsport testing.
When a Rivian R1T became the first EV to win the gruelling Rebelle Rally in 2023, the data gathered from conquering the deep sand directly led to the development of Rivian’s Desert Rally drive mode, as well as the Deep Sand mode.
Our team is further developing the deep sand performance of the Tri-Motor R1! It’s incredible :) pic.twitter.com/DNzlGaSVAH
Similarly, when Rivian’s engineers set out to shatter the production electric truck record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, they built a custom internal software tool to adjust torque bias, stability control, and regenerative braking on the fly. They realized one thing along the way: that tool was simply too fun to keep locked away for engineers, and Rivian decided to refine it for customers, too.
The RAD Tuner
That Pikes Peak engineering tool has officially arrived in consumer vehicles as the RAD Tuner. Exclusively available for Gen 2 Quad-Motor owners, the RAD Tuner acts as a high-performance equalizer for the powertrain.
You have access to real-time control over ten different vehicle parameters, including power output, front-to-rear torque split, brake assistance, wheel slip, damping, and roll stiffness. Instead of relying on factory presets, off-road enthusiasts can now dial in their own custom driving dynamics to suit their style and the trails they’re adventuring on.
That’s a level of customizability that’s never really been available in a production vehicle before.
Taking on the FAT Ice Course
To celebrate the formalization of the new division, RAD is making its official public debut this week at the 2026 FAT Ice Race in Big Sky, Montana. They’re also showcasing the new bold orange, red, and white RAD livery - and competing with a brand-new Quad-Motor R1S on the frozen course.
Rivian R1S Quad on studded tires sets a lap around the FAT Ice Race course!
The studded tires help a ton but so does the new RAD Tuner that allows Luke Lynch to dial in all of the suspension and powertrain attributes to his liking
Equipped with studded tires, the first R1S Quad RAD is leveraging RAD Tuner to perfectly control its suspension and powertrain for the low-traction environment - all with 1,025 horsepower on tap. Perfect torque delivery is what keeps a vehicle stable at those speeds and in those conditions, and Rivian is proving that its new performance division isn’t just a marketing exercise - it is a massive commitment to build highly performing electric adventure vehicles.
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Rivian is taking a major step toward closing the loop on battery life. The electric vehicle maker has officially announced a partnership with Redwood Materials to deploy a first-of-its-kind energy storage system at its Normal, Illinois, manufacturing facility. By repurposing more than 100 "second-life" battery packs from its vehicles, Rivian will create a 10 megawatt-hour (MWh) storage reservoir to help power the very plant where its cars are built.
This partnership is a massive win for sustainability. EV batteries are designed to be incredibly durable, often outlasting the vehicles themselves. Even when a pack is no longer ideal for high-performance driving, it still holds significant value for stationary storage. By utilizing these assets, Rivian is ensuring its environmental footprint remains as small as possible.
Repurposing for the R2 Ramp
The timing of this installation is particularly critical. Rivian’s Normal plant is currently gearing up for mass production of the R2, the company’s first affordable, mass-market SUV. After recently beating Q1 delivery estimates, the factory is under immense pressure to scale.
Rivian Wave
The new 10 MWh system will provide "dispatchable energy," meaning Rivian can pull power from these batteries during peak demand periods. This will not only lower energy costs for the company but also reduce the overall load on the local electrical grid, supporting reliability for the surrounding community.
“EVs represent a massive, distributed and highly competitive energy resource,” said Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. “As energy needs grow, our grid needs to be flexible, secure, and affordable. Our partnership with Redwood enables us to utilize our vehicle’s batteries beyond the life of a vehicle and contribute to grid health and American competitiveness.”
Solving the Industrial Growth Constraint
The "secret sauce" behind this setup is Redwood’s proprietary Pack Manager technology. This system acts as a universal translator, allowing Redwood to communicate with and control different battery packs regardless of their original voltage or state of health.
JB Straubel, the founder and CEO of Redwood Materials (and former Tesla CTO), highlighted that the grid is currently struggling to keep up with the demands of modern manufacturing. “Electricity demand is accelerating faster than the grid can expand, posing a constraint on industrial growth,” Straubel said. “Our partnership with Rivian shows how EV battery packs can be turned into dispatchable energy resources, bringing new capacity online quickly, supporting critical manufacturing, and reducing strain on the grid without waiting years for new infrastructure. This is a scalable model for how we add meaningful energy capacity in the near term.”
A Scalable Model for the Future
This 10 MWh project is just the beginning. Redwood estimates that by 2030, the U.S. will need over 600 GWh of storage to stabilize the grid — a massive amount of energy equivalent to the Hoover Dam running for two months straight.
By turning old EV batteries into stationary assets before they are eventually recycled, companies can defer billions of dollars in costly infrastructure upgrades. As Rivian prepares to hand over the first R2 keys later this spring, its factory will be running on a smarter, more resilient energy loop that proves the "second life" of a battery is just as important as the first.
Rivian is moving quickly to address a security oversight that has left some owners feeling vulnerable. After a high-profile report of an accidental frunk opening, the company’s software team has confirmed that new safeguards are officially in development to prevent "butt-dialing" your storage space.
The issue gained traction after X user @dictionaryhill shared a stressful experience at the gym. Recently, when coming out of the gym one day, they noticed that their R1T’s frunk was open with their backpack and other belongings simply there for anyone to potentially grab. The situation was particularly risky because the frunk contained an iPad, a wallet, and $1,000 in cash from a recent Facebook Marketplace sale. Despite having proximity unlocking turned off, the front trunk had sat wide open in a public parking lot for several minutes.
When I came out the gym today, I found my Truck with the frunk open and my backup untouched. It had a Rivian Carabiner key attached to it (I have proximity unlocking off) My iPad, Wallet and countless other crap.
After reaching out to the owner, Rivian’s team was able to verify that the command came from a phone widget. According to Rivian, @dictionaryhill’s iPhone sent out a frunk opening command at 11:50 a.m., which the owner said originated from an accidental screen tap. They walked out of their gym and discovered the truck open just seven minutes later.
Accidental taps on smartphone widgets are a common frustration for EV owners. Because these buttons are designed for quick access, they often lack the "Are you sure?" confirmation required for such a significant physical action. Rivian’s Chief Software Officer, Wassym Bensaid, joined the conversation to acknowledge the flaw. "We can still do a better job to protect from some of the accidental taps with the iOS widgets. Working on it," Bensaid stated.
Learning from the Competition
Rivian isn't the first company to deal with this. Tesla, for example, has a built-in safeguard that asks for confirmation on the screen if you try to open the frunk while your phone key is not actively connected to the vehicle. This ensures that if you accidentally tap the button from a mile away, the car won't just pop open. However, if you are standing right next to the car, it assumes the intent is real and opens immediately.
Rivian Wave
Rivian is currently on a roll with highly requested software updates, recently confirming a new battery health menu is also on the way. Adding a confirmation step or a "long-press" requirement for the frunk widget would be a simple but effective fix to keep gear safe, while a proximity check before the command is executed would be a more complex but convenient solution. This is especially important as the company prepares to launch the highly anticipated R2, which features a spacious front trunk that will likely be a primary storage spot for many new owners.
While @dictionaryhill was lucky this time, the incident highlights the growing pains of software-defined vehicles. Rivian’s willingness to engage directly with owners and push out fixes over-the-air remains one of its biggest strengths. We expect to see these new "anti-accidental" options arrive in an upcoming update, perhaps in time for the first R2 deliveries later this spring.
