Rivian‘s Software Chief Wassym Bensaid revealed on Monday that ‘Launch Mode’ will be added to Quad and Dual Performance first generation vehicles “early next year.”
Bensaid made the announcement in response to a Reddit user who asked Saturday about “achievable quality-of-life and performance enhancements” for first-generation R1S and R1T vehicles.
Early EV adopters increasingly worry about being left behind as automakers accelerate product cycles and focus software development on newer models.
The Reddit user, who described themselves as an early Rivian owner, said ongoing updates would allow the company to “secure the appreciation and continued brand advocacy of your most dedicated early adopters.”
“I understand that the launch of the R2 platform and the new Gen 2 R1 lineup are monumental steps for Rivian’s growth and future success,” the user wrote on Reddit.
“We are not asking for hands-free driving, but for achievable quality-of-life and performance enhancements,” the Rivian owner added.
Naming a few examples, the user suggested adding “a simple, persistent, active lane-centering feature” or the upcoming text message integration with the Rivian Assistant, which was unveiled during the company’s ‘Autonomy & AI Day’ event last week.
Two days after the post was published, Wassym Bensaid answered directly, saying that “Launch mode is coming to Gen 1 Quad and Dual Performance early next year.”
Additionally, the executive revealed that “messaging support will come through the AI Assistant deep end-to-end integration.”
While thanking the user for highlighting a bug that “must be fixed,” Bensaid revealed that, “as a bonus :-), we are also adding Apple Watch support for Gen 1 with Active entry only (no passive unlock like UWB-enabled Gen2), and it will be available early next year.”
Software Issues
Last week, another user took to Reddit to report seven issues affecting second-generation R1 vehicles, some of which they said could impact safety.
However, the post did not get a reply from the team as of yet.
Rivian, which is known for its software-focused vehicles — which has granted it a billion-dollar agreement with Volkswagen Group — has seen several issues surface on user complaints over the past few weeks.
In late November, a major software bug, which affected an unknown number of Rivian vehicles, displayed incorrect battery charge levels, leaving drivers stranded when their cars ran out of power.
The company has since issued a software update to fix the issue.
Kick Turn
Kick Turn, a feature which was previously delayed, is also being rolled out to second generation Quad Motor vehicles.
The feature was first confirmed for the flagship variant last July.
Bensaid also revealed on Monday, through an X post, that the upcoming software update will begin rolling out “this week.”
