According to recent Bloomberg and Businesswire publications, Volkswagen will be investing $5 billion USD to form a joint venture with Rivian. Rivian stock has also rallied an astounding 50% in the hours since the announcement.
$5 Billion Stake
Of the $5 billion being invested, $1 billion will be invested immediately in Rivian, and the remaining $4 billion will be invested over time. That initial $1 billion will be invested in the company by the end of 2024, pending regulatory approval. The remaining $4 billion could be a fair while out, pending the formation of the joint venture in the fourth financial quarter of 2024.
The new joint venture will be “equally controlled and owned”. This is at a critical juncture for Rivian, who has recently debuted their R2 and R3 platforms, as well as bringing a much-appreciated revamp for the R1 platform.
CEO of Volkswagen, Oliver Blume:
“Our customers benefit from the targeted partnership with Rivian to create a leading technology architecture. Through our cooperation, we will bring the best solutions to our vehicles faster and at lower cost. We are also acting in the best interest of our strong brands, which will inspire with their iconic products. The partnership fits seamlessly with our existing software strategy, our products, and partnerships. We are strengthening our technology profile and our competitiveness.”
Joint Venture
Part of the joint venture will be to help Rivian lower the cost per vehicle, while Rivian helps provide Volkswagen with its new Zonal control technology, which optimizes and shortens the circuit paths in a vehicle.
The Rivian platforms are also expected to serve as the foundation for future EV vehicles from Volkswagen. Rivian will be maintaining its intellectual property rights throughout the joint venture, which will provide an ongoing revenue stream for the company, as it settles into a new and faster production rhythm.
Rivian CEO, RJ Scaringe, said:
“We’re very excited to be partnering with Volkswagen Group. Since the earliest days of Rivian, we have been focused on developing highly differentiated technology, and it’s exciting that one of the world’s largest and most respected automotive companies has recognized this. Not only is this partnership expected to bring our software and associated zonal architecture to an even broader market through Volkswagen Group’s global reach, but this partnership also is expected to help secure our capital needs for substantial growth. Rivian was created to help the world to transition away from fossil fuels through compelling products and services, and this partnership is beautifully aligned with that mission.”
Battery Venture Speculation
There is another opportunity for both companies, as Volkswagen moves to establish a 370-acre battery “giga factory” in Ontario, Canada. This could be an opportunity for Rivian and Volkswagen to continue their cooperation on battery technology, as Volkswagen intends to use the Rivian platforms for their vehicles.
Volkswagen has only recently broken ground at the site and expects the factory to produce about 90 GWh of batteries per year – or enough for roughly 1 million EVs a year. Volkswagen and the Ontario government expect that the factory should be fully functional by 2027. We could expect batteries from this Ontario factory to end up in Rivian vehicles in the future!
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It’s that exciting time again when a major Tesla software update is on the verge of being released. Tesla update 2025.20 is now being tested on employee vehicles, but since Tesla is very strict about sharing updates early, it’s anyone’s guess as to what’s in it.
This update is now reaching employee vehicles, which means it will still be a few weeks before it reaches customers. However, there’s plenty to be excited about. Given the trail of breadcrumbs found in Tesla’s code recently and from recent announcements of upcoming features, there are plenty of hints about what could be in it.
Let’s break it down and see what may be included in Tesla update 2025.20.
The existing voice command system gets the job done for basic controls, but it’s far from an intelligent, conversational assistant that many have come to expect from their cell phones or other smart devices. The integration of Grok is expected to change that.
Not only is Grok expected to bring a much more reliable system that’s able to parse commands from conversational phrases, but it’ll also drastically expand what the vehicle is capable of understanding and responding to through its voice system.
If you haven’t used Grok, you have several articles on what you can expect. It’ll be a drastic improvement that will reshape the way many of us drive. That may sound like we’re blowing the feature out of proportion, but if you spend a lot of time by yourself in your vehicle, this could have a huge impact on your commute.
Grok could be used as a conversational assistant, a sort of virtual friend who knows a whole lot just about any topic. Sure, you’ll be able to ask it for the weather or stock quotes or when Tesla is holding its next event, but the real power of it is just to be able to carry on conversations about a specific topic.
So here’s what we can expect. A virtual assistant who can execute vehicle commands like opening the glove box, which will be a direct replacement for the voice command system. You’ll also be able to ask general knowledge questions and carry on a conversation about any topic.
The responses won’t be limited to text like they are in the voice command system. Grok will have its voice, just like it does in the Grok app, so you’ll be able to hear your responses, letting you stay focused on the road. However, there likely won’t be a way for Grok to respond with anything except text or voice, for example, it likely won’t be able to display a photo.
Since Grok is replacing the vehicle’s command system and it’s mostly a backend change, we expect it to be available on older vehicles as well, such as those with Intel MCUs.
Grok is close to being released, so if it isn’t included in update 2025.20, it’s expected to be soon afterward, as Grok code has already been found in the previous Tesla update. The code discovered includes UI elements and a personality button like the Grok app.
New Vehicle Keys
With the Robotaxi Network launching as soon as June 12th in Austin and Elon confirming the project is well ahead of schedule, we’re anticipating Tesla will unveil the Robotaxi half of the Tesla app and the in-car interface sometime soon. While we don’t expect to see the in-car interface for both the front and rear screens for vehicles just yet, we could start seeing some other aspects, such as new virtual keys.
Two new keys were found: “Rider Keys,” which allow other drivers to access your vehicle when it is in “Fleet Mode,” and a new type of key called “Pre-delivery.” These keys will presumably let you unlock a vehicle but have limited capabilities. They could allow you to open and inspect your new vehicle, but not start it.
This could remove another human component when picking up your new Tesla.
Trailer Visualizations
Trailer visualizations could be added soon following confirmation from Wes Morril, Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer. Trailers are typically depicted as an additional vehicle or a truck. While the vehicle can accurately detect the trailer, the visualization leaves something to be desired.
Tesla already renders a series of objects in the visualizations, but trailers, along with trains and gates are some of the most requested additions.
Wes Morril also mentioned that Tesla may start rendering Cybertrucks in the visualization. It’s not clear whether he meant that Tesla was updating the truck's 3D model to be a Cybertruck, or if Tesla would display a special Cybertruck model specifically when the vehicle detects a Cybertruck.
While the Cybertruck has a polarizing design, this could be a fun addition. Years ago, Musk commented that Tesla would eventually render other Tesla vehicles as themselves in the visualization, even in their same real-life color, but it seems that Tesla dropped that idea and decided to keep the visualizations simpler.
The feature allows users to create their own custom wrap designs using a Tesla-provided template. It also allows them to create a custom license plate that is displayed in the visualization, letting you create a fun vanity plate or display your actual license plate.
Child Left Behind Detection
Tesla recently launched Child Left Behind support in Europe on the new Model 3. This feature uses the cabin radar to detect if a child has been left behind in a vehicle, and then takes some critical emergency steps. If an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will flash its exterior indicator lights, play an alert tone, and send a notification to your Tesla App. This repeats at regular intervals until you return.
We’re also expecting Tesla to improve this feature by automatically enabling the climate system in the vehicle when it detects a child left alone in the vehicle. In a critical scenario, Tesla previously stated that it would also automatically call emergency services if the driver doesn’t respond to prompts to return to the vehicle.
Since this feature was just added to a single model in select countries in update 2025.14.12, it appears that Tesla wants to collect data before expanding it further to reduce false positives. Since the feature was just rolled out to the public a few days ago, it may be too soon to expand it to other vehicles in update 2025.20, but it’s possible we may see it included in a few more regions or see another model supported.
Smart Child Seats
Rendering of what Tesla's integration could look like
@dkrasniy
Back in 2024, we found some code and preview images for Smart Child Seats, which would let the vehicle communicate with smart child seats that are already available. The seats could communicate with the vehicle about being properly installed and confirming the child is buckled.
They could also provide warnings if the child has been left in the seat too long or if the car seat belt has been unbuckled.Quality of Life Improvements
Emergency Vehicle Alert
Tesla has recently started processing audio data, enabling it to not only detect emergency vehicles through its cameras but also through audio. This capability could allow the vehicle to detect an emergency vehicle much sooner.
Supercharger Dynamic Pricing Support
Not a Tesla App
Tesla recently announced that some Superchargers are transitioning to a new dynamic pricing model, which sets the price based on the number of vehicles charging rather than the time of day.
This new pricing model would adjust the price of these Superchargers based on their actual real-time usage when you begin Supercharging. Your price is locked in when you begin Supercharging and won’t change halfway through, so you know exactly how much you’ll be paying.
This change means that a Supercharger could now potentially be cheapest during the day if few vehicles are using it. However, it could also be more expensive at night if it’s under high usage.
These changes make the charging price a little more fair and should help Supercharger congestion, incentivizing drivers to spread out to other nearby Superchargers that may have lower usage and, therefore, lower costs.
Tesla already showed off what the new interface will look like in the vehicle, so we expect that to be implemented in this upcoming 2025.20 update. The updated Supercharger UI will display an arrow next to the Supercharger price, indicating whether the price is higher or lower than anticipated based on historical usage. It’ll also include a “Low Price” or “High Price” label to help consumers decide.
There will also be a new “Find Lower Price Charging” button that will display nearby Superchargers that have lower prices and are less congested.
The Tesla app recently added support for this new charging model in app update 4.44.5.
Quality of Live Improvements
We could also see some other smaller, quality-of-life improvements from Tesla. First up are some improvements to Car Wash Mode, which will provide an alert for anyone who inadvertently lowers their window during a car wash.
We’re also hoping to see Tire Fill Assist, which will likely check the Bluetooth TPMS while you’re filling your tires. It could also give you audible feedback through the vehicle’s internal speakers or outside speaker (PWS) when the tire is approaching the set limit.
Last, but not least, we’re continuing to hold onto the hope that Tesla adds Steam Support to its entire lineup of vehicles. Ever since removing the additional RAM from the Model S and Model X, Tesla has quietly killed Steam Support - but oddly enough, it has still provided updates for it. We’d love to see SteamOS make an appearance on Tesla vehicles - what’s more futuristic than having your vehicle running Unsupervised FSD while you take a break and do some gaming?
When Is It Coming?
This update just started rolling out to employees, so it usually takes two to three weeks before it starts rolling out to the first public vehicles. Expect this update to start rolling out sometime in June, which just so happens to coincide with Tesla’s Robotaxi rollout.
Following yesterday’s news that the Tesla Robotaxi network is ahead of schedule and set to launch on June 12th, overnight, Elon confirmed that the Robotaxi network is far ahead of expectations.
With Elon back and working full-time at Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, we’ll likely receive a lot more updates on what these companies are working on. In this case, Elon confirmed that Tesla has been running autonomous Model Ys with no one in the driver’s seat on Austin’s public streets, with no incidents. According to yesterday’s report, there is still someone in the passenger seat just in case something comes up, but essentially “driverless.”
Elon also confirmed that Tesla’s ambitious plans to have a Model Y deliver itself directly from the factory to a customer, presumably in Austin, will also occur next month.
For the past several days, Tesla has been testing self-driving Model Y cars (no one in driver’s seat) on Austin public streets with no incidents.
A month ahead of schedule.
Next month, first self-delivery from factory to customer.
While this will likely be geographically limited to the areas around Giga Texas, and potentially, Tesla’s Fremont factory in the future, it is still a great step toward reducing the cost of vehicles.
Public Access by End of June
In a reply, Elon also confirmed that anyone would be able to test out the Robotaxi network by the end of June. While in typical Elon fashion, he didn’t answer the question of whether the network will be invite-only at first, we expect this will likely be the case and it won’t just be anyone who can open the Tesla app and summon a robotaxi.
At the Q1 2025 Earnings Call, Elon stated that the Robotaxi service would only be available to the public in late June or early July, giving Tesla enough time to test with internal audiences, as well as invited testers. This timeline seems to be fairly concrete, but if you’re planning a trip to Austin to check out Robotaxi, we suggest looking at early July, as timelines can still shift.
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