"Design Yours" link on R2 website

[Jeremy3292]

Didn't RJ say end of 2026 for LIDAR?

Yep. My guess is the R2 premium trim arrives with LIDAR. Lines up with the current "late 2026" availability of that trim.

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[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Yep. My guess is the R2 premium trim arrives with LIDAR. Lines up with the current "late 2026" availability of that trim.

So how did that get twisted into "2027" is what I'm wondering. Online sewing circles...

 

[Jeremy3292]

So how did that get twisted into "2027" is what I'm wondering. Online sewing circles...

Personal opinions can vary

 

[SANZC02]

So how did that get twisted into "2027" is what I'm wondering. Online sewing circles...

I can’t find it now but I thought one of the interviews RJ had it was mentioned as late 2026 or early 2027.

 

[dleepnw]

Hmm, mine still says "Reserve" or it got changed back after being mistakenly released.

 

[Jeremy3292]

I can’t find it now but I thought one of the interviews RJ had it was mentioned as late 2026 or early 2027.

From less than 2 weeks ago on April 30th. 3:08 minute mark.

"...at the end of this year" is the direct quote

https://www.rivianwave.com/news/4058/rivians-ceo-rj-details-l3-autonomy-roadmap

 

[Mos Eisley]

Didn't RJ say "end of 2026" for LIDAR?

That’s what I thought. Between what he said and reading between the lines, sure, they would have liked for things to be aligned but that wasn’t going to happen and they had to move on.

 

[sparked]

Didn't RJ say "end of 2026" for LIDAR?

RJ has said both late 2026 and early 2027. So maybe implies very limited LiDAR availability in 2026 on R2.

Here's the source of the 2027 RJ comments in the Q4 2025 Earnings call: https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-...rivian-rivn-q4-2025-earnings-call-transcript/

The hardware upgrades that we've talked about in the past, we talked about at our autonomy and AI Day, these are going to be on vehicles in the early part of 2027.

 

[Jeremy3292]

RJ has said both late 2026 and early 2027. So maybe implies very limited LiDAR availability in 2026 on R2.

Here's the source of the 2027 RJ comments in the Q4 2025 Earnings call: https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-...rivian-rivn-q4-2025-earnings-call-transcript/

2 weeks ago, as I linked above, he said end of this year. So maybe the timeline has shifted or he's being unclear when he speaks at different times lol.

 

[DuoRivian]

Suspect June deliveries will be influencer vehicles only. Still "customers" so there's that. They'll take whatever Rivian hands to them to get their first reviews in.

I'm reading this as real deliveries won't begin until July or August. Even if Rivian builds a few hundred inventory units they spread across maybe 8-10 states that's up to 50 per state if 500 get pre-built? And I suspect those will be available the first few weeks of July - and only after showrooms get their floor and demo models.

The way this is shaping up, it seems that all the real 'production' R2's will be Gen 3 with LiDAR in the fall which makes a lot of sense. Who wants to drop $60-65K on a vehicle that will be obsolete in just a couple of months?

It will not be obsolete, the only change is for autonomy. Not batteries (range, charging, thermal management), infotainment, motors, suspension etc.
Even for autonomy current stack can do L3 and has headspace to improve over the next few years.

 

[carsly]

It will not be obsolete, the only change is for autonomy. Not batteries (range, charging, thermal management), infotainment, motors, suspension etc.
Even for autonomy current stack can do L3 and has headspace to improve over the next few years.

Believe what makes you happy.

But from the lessons the market has learned with Mobileye, AI3 vs. AI4, and even R1 Gen 1 vs. R1 Gen 2 it's pretty clear to some of us that R2 launch edition is designed to be an orphaned product and we've been told that time and time again by RJ and team (RAP1, LiDAR, maybe better cameras, etc. coming to Gen 3). Further proof? The only real upgrade for the launch vehicle is a license to Autonomy+. Oh, and a colored key fob.

I'd advise anyone thinking R2 launch edition is not designed for obsolescence to review what Rivian said in the early days of R1. You'll find a lot of similar words, phrases and inferences about performance headroom, tunable suspension, autonomous capabilities, etc. Now? Even the 2024 Gen 1's are orphaned re: autonomy and have been for over a year.

Caveat emptor.

 

[DuoRivian]

Believe what makes you happy.

But from the lessons the market has learned with Mobileye, AI3 vs. AI4, and even R1 Gen 1 vs. R1 Gen 2 it's pretty clear to some of us that R2 launch edition is designed to be an orphaned product and we've been told that time and time again by RJ and team (RAP1, LiDAR, maybe better cameras, etc. coming to Gen 3). Further proof? The only real upgrade for the launch vehicle is a license to Autonomy+. Oh, and a colored key fob.

I'd advise anything thinking R2 launch edition is not designed for obsolescence to review what Rivian said in the early days of R1. You'll find a lot of similar words, phrases and inferences about performance headroom, tunable suspension, autonomous capabilities, etc. Now? Even the 2024 Gen 1's are orphaned re: autonomy and have been for over a year.

Caveat emptor.

I am not a fan of FUD. If you are concerned with obsolescence then you would never buy a Rivian (or anything else) because RAP2 will be out after RAP1 and things continually improve (see each years iPhone).
As stated only autonomy will change and have more headroom, and from interviews RJ gave L4 (which needs RAP1) is late 2020s or early 2030s. If someone is happy with L3 then the LE R2 works perfectly for that customer since EVERYTHING else stays the same.

 

[VandalSibs]

Now? Even the 2024 Gen 1's are orphaned re: autonomy and have been for over a year.

DId Ford add new features to the 2015-2020 model year F-150s once they released the 2021-present F-150s? Nope! Vehicle was feature locked.

The fact that Rivian (and Tesla, since they do this too) still adds features & upgrades software to a generation of vehicle that they don't even produce anymore is beyond normal in the automotive world.

The speed at which technology can change just further reinforces to me that one should always shop based on what is available now matching their needs and wants & not what something may have. When you do this, the extra stuff that ends up happening is just the cherry on top of the sundae (as long as you are happy with the sundae in the first place, I guess).

 

[skyguyscott]

From less than 2 weeks ago on April 30th. 3:08 minute mark.

"...at the end of this year" is the direct quote

https://www.rivianwave.com/news/4058/rivians-ceo-rj-details-l3-autonomy-roadmap

I think if you listen to the interview, given to Bloomberg, whose audience is primarily targeted to investors/business, and take the tone and context into account, the question posed was regarding Rivian's vertical integration, in-house fab, the future roadmap and when "that" (vertical integration) enters production.

RJ responds as though he is referring to a project timeline, rather than announcing a product delivery date:

"So our in-house silicon, which is an 800 TOPS per chip; we have two of those in the vehicle, and we couple that with cameras, radar, lidar, which sits at the top of the windshield -- that comes in at the end of this year. And so our Launch edition still has a very highly capable self-driving platform, which is essentially a further development of what's in our R1 vehicle now...​

Now, it's clear to me, from both the context of the interview and just from life experience and a familiarity with the complexities of human enterprise that RJ is sharing Rivian's plans rather than promising a delivery date. Perhaps the Lidar R2 will begin deliveries before 12/31/2026, but given that things almost always take longer and cost more than you first imagine, and given life's unexpected surprises, like tornados, for instance, I am not expecting such a vehicle to be widely available to the public this year, even if RJ specifically promised it to be so, which I don't think he does here.

 

[DuoRivian]

I think if you listen to the interview, given to Bloomberg, whose audience is primarily targeted to investors/business, and take the tone and context into account, the question posed was regarding Rivian's vertical integration, in-house fab, the future roadmap and when "that" (vertical integration) enters production.

RJ responds as though he is referring to a project timeline, rather than announcing a product delivery date:

"So our in-house silicon, which is an 800 TOPS per chip; we have two of those in the vehicle, and we couple that with cameras, radar, lidar, which sits at the top of the windshield -- that comes in at the end of this year. And so our Launch edition still has a very highly capable self-driving platform, which is essentially a further development of what's in our R1 vehicle now...​

Now, it's clear to me, from both the context of the interview and just from life experience and a familiarity with the complexities of human enterprise that RJ is sharing Rivian's plans rather than promising a delivery date. Perhaps the Lidar R2 will begin deliveries before 12/31/2026, but given that things almost always take longer and cost more than you first imagine, and given life's unexpected surprises, like tornados, for instance, I am not expecting such a vehicle to be widely available to the public this year, even if RJ specifically promised it to be so, which I don't think he does here.

All very true and some of those who spread FUD seem to gloss over “Launch edition still has a very highly capable self-driving platform” - where L3 autonomy can be done with the initial R2.

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