Rivian is discounting R1S and R1T vehicles by up to $5,000, in what appears to be a push to move existing vehicles ahead of the 2027 model-year release.
The markdowns, affecting an unknown number of units across dozens of configurations, have surfaced recently on the EV maker’s website, as noticed by X user and Rivian owner Chris Hilbert this week.
Several R1 builds carry “reduced price” tags on the shop page, all 2026 model-year units spanning Dual, Tri and Quad configurations. Users can now specifically search for 2026 model year builds on the filters too.
Discounts range from $500 on lower-specification builds of the R1S to $5,000 on top-tier Quad models with the Max battery pack.
A batch of R1Ts also shows reductions of up to $3,000. Only Dual and Tri motor trims of the pick-up appear in the discounted truck inventory.
What the Listings Show
Among the R1S listings, a Quad with the Max battery, Darkout Package and additional options lists at $119,990 with a $5,000 reduction.
A Tri-motor R1S with the Max battery, All-Terrain Package and Darkout Package shows $114,190 with $3,000 off.
A Dual-motor R1S with the Max battery and Performance Upgrade carries a sticker of $102,490 and a $1,000 cut.
Other R1S Tri configurations display savings of $2,000 to $3,000, with prices varying by package selection.
Estimated delivery windows range from less than one week to two to three weeks, depending on the vehicle’s location relative to the buyer.
On the R1T side, the discounted pickups cluster around Dual and Tri motor setups on Large and Max battery packs.
All listed vehicles are new, not pre-owned or demo stock.
Model-Year Switch
The scope and timing mirror a pattern Rivian has used before.
The company offered discounts of up to $6,000 on 2023 and 2024 R1 inventory in mid-2024 as production shifted toward the refreshed Gen 2 lineup for the 2025 model year.
Last year, Rivian launched the 2026 model-year vehicles on July 8th. As of Tuesday, the company has not announced the 2027 model year yet.
The Gen 2 R1 lineup — which brought in-house drive units, a zonal electrical architecture and multiple battery-pack options — was revealed in June 2024 and entered production as the 2025 model year.
The 2026 model year carried more modest adjustments: standard NACS charging ports, incremental motor-efficiency tweaks and price increases of up to $1,090 on most trims.
Gen-3 Autonomy
Rivian announced Gen 3 autonomy hardware — a front long-range LiDAR sensor, the custom RAP1 processor and significantly more compute — primarily for the R2.
Gen 3 is expected to begin appearing on R2 vehicles toward the end of 2026 or early 2027, after initial Launch Edition R2s shipped with Gen 2 sensors. No retrofit path exists for early R2 units.
Community speculation and forum discussions suggest LiDAR and full Gen 3 hardware for the R1 could arrive later, potentially in 2028 or with a larger refresh, due to the engineering changes required.
Rivian has not confirmed any timeline for bringing Gen 3 to the R1 platform.
On the software side, Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid confirmed in a May Reddit AMA that RivianOS 2.0 would debut on R2 vehicles at launch and come to R1 vehicles later this year.
The unified stack eliminates the need to maintain parallel software platforms and underpins the $5.8 billion software joint venture between Rivian and Volkswagen Group.
Soft R1 Demand
R1 deliveries combining the R1S and R1T came to an estimated 7,402 units in the second quarter, down 6.3% from the same period a year earlier, according to Cox Automotive figures.
The R1T bore the sharper decline at an estimated 1,219 units, a 30.4% year-over-year drop.
The R1S held roughly flat at 6,183 units, up 0.6%.
Full-year R1 deliveries fell about 15.1% in 2025 from the prior year, a slide Rivian has attributed partly to buyers waiting for the lower-priced R2 SUV — for which orders opened on June 9.
Rivian has layered other incentives alongside the inventory reductions.
Current offers include a $3,000 lease credit on Tri and Dual with Performance Upgrade models, 0% APR for 60 months on any remaining 2025 R1 stock and 1.99% APR on select 2026 trims.
Separately, the company extended a $1,500 purchase discount for Amazon employees on R1 vehicles through September 30.
Dual-Standard Exit
The price reductions apply to a lineup that has already been trimmed.
Rivian quietly discontinued the Dual Standard variant of both the R1T and R1S in late June, removing the entry-level configuration built around the smaller LFP battery pack.
The move lifted the R1S entry price to $83,990 for the Dual on the Large battery and the R1T to $79,990 — a $7,000 increase over the discontinued trim.
Founder CEO RJ Scaringe had previously disclosed that the company sold very few base-spec vehicles and that the average R1 selling price hovered around $90,000.
Removing the Dual Standard widened the pricing gap to the R2, which starts at $57,990 for the Performance Launch Edition now in production.
A base single-motor version at $45,000 is expected to launch in late 2027.
With the entry trim gone, the 2026 R1S and R1T are available with two battery sizes — Large and Max — and four powertrain options: Dual, Performance Dual, Tri and Quad.
