Rivian‘s Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid said on Wednesday the company deliberately launched the R2 without several familiar software features to protect quality, committing to deliver them through monthly over-the-air updates this summer.
The explanation, posted on X, is Rivian‘s most detailed response yet to one of the complaints that helped send its shares down 6.6% on the R2’s launch day.
“We intentionally decided to release few features later to have the best quality, those (and other new features) are coming through our monthly OTA updates this summer,” Bensaid wrote.
The executive, who also serves as co-CEO of the Rivian and Volkswagen software joint venture, framed the launch gaps as a consequence of an all-new operating system rather than an oversight.
“Our goal with Rivian OS2.0 was to build a new modular operating system with intuitive and flexible UX, and set a new benchmark in Performance,” he wrote.
“We’re very happy that reviewers and even customers who could enjoy the R2 on demo drives yesterday immediately noticed that,” Bensaid added.
The Features Buyers Won’t Find at Delivery
The first R2 customer vehicles are arriving without Rivian Assistant, Climate Hold, Pet Mode, SiriusXM, Google Casting and YouTube, while the Gear Guard security system launches with limited functionality compared with the R1 lineup, as reported by RivianTrackr from the R2 First Drive event.
Rivian staff at the event said some of the absent features were at least a month away, without committing to specific dates.
Bensaid’s post now attaches a season to the promise — monthly OTA updates through the summer — though still no feature-by-feature schedule.
“RivianOS 2.0 (which launches with R2) is a complete rewrite of the whole OS,” Jose wrote. “These features ARE coming and will most likely be there by the time you get your own R2.”
A Rewritten Operating System
The R2 is the first Rivian to ship with RivianOS 2.0, the rebuilt software stack the company developed alongside its simplified zonal electrical architecture.
That architecture sits at the heart of the joint venture with Volkswagen, the up to $5.8 billion deal under which the German group is adopting Rivian‘s electronics and software for its own future EVs — making the quality of the R2’s software rollout a reference case for both companies.
Bensaid has led Rivian‘s software organization since the company’s early days and was named co-chief executive of the joint venture at its formation, splitting leadership with a Volkswagen counterpart.
A Complaint With a Stock Price Attached
Missing features became a market story on Tuesday, when Rivian shares fell 6.6% to $15.73 on the day customer deliveries of the R2 began — an unusual case of a software backlog carrying a measurable price tag within hours of being reported.
Shares slipped a further 1.1% to $15.55 in Wednesday’s pre-market session, leaving the stock down about 14% over five days after a 25% climb into the launch.
In that selloff, the software gaps ran as the second complaint behind the lease pricing that sparked immediate backlash, with quotes on the R2 Performance approaching $1,000 a month with nothing down.
The stakes around the launch were already elevated: Rivian‘s US sales had declined for four consecutive months heading into the R2’s arrival, making the new SUV the company’s clearest path back to growth.
Wall Street has begun weighing in on the gap between product and reaction. Needham reiterated its Buy rating and $23 price target on Wednesday, with analyst Chris Pierce — who raised the target by 64% after the company’s Autonomy and AI Day in December — urging bearish investors to test drive the R2 rather than judge demand through “a broader EV adoption lens.”
