The Rivian R3 and R3X are part of Rivian’s upcoming platform of smaller and more affordable vehicles, which were announced on March 7th, alongside the Rivian R2.
The R3 is a midsize crossover, designed with tighter dimensions, and an even lower price point than the R2 – which is supposed to start at $45,000 USD. Meanwhile, the R3X is the performance variant of the R3 – it's supposed to be Rivian’s tech demonstrator that is meant for vehicle enthusiasts, capable of working both on- and off-road.
Price and Specs
While pricing information for the Rivian R3 hasn’t been released just yet, industry estimates line up the starting price around $37,000 USD, and it should go up to $45,000 USD after battery and motor options. The R3X will be a bit more expensive, similar to the current R1T or R1S Quad Max Ascend trims, which have everything included. We’re estimating the R3X to be in the $50,000 to $60,000 range, depending on fit and finish. These numbers, for now, are just best guesses.
Battery Specs
We expect Rivian’s offerings to vary widely based on both the battery and motor packages. Today, Rivian offers a Standard Pack, Large Pack, and Max Pack on the R1S and R1T. For the R3, and the R2 platform in general, Rivian will launch two battery packs. The larger pack will be the one that obtains both the 300+ miles (382 km) of range and the 3-second 0-60mph acceleration on its quickest configuration. This could change in the future, but for now, this is Rivian’s plan, as they intend to offer fewer configuration options to reduce manufacturing complexity.
The R3 will also feature a structural battery based on Rivian’s new 4695 cells, which they say will offer significant improvements in both energy density and output. Rivian intends to focus its efforts on this new cell size going forward.
The R3X is only expected to be available in the top-level battery pack trim.
The Rivian R3X prototype
Rivian
Motor Options
On the R1T and the R1S, Rivian offers three motor options — dual-motor AWD, tri-motor and quad-motor. However, for the R3, Rivian will be offering a single-motor (RWD), dual-motor (AWD), and tri-motor (two rear, one front) configurations for the R3. This lets Rivian reduce the R3’s starting price, making it as cost-efficient as possible.
The R3X, meanwhile, will only be offered in a tri-motor option, emphasizing performance and robustness both on and off-road.
EV Rebates and Tax Credits
Rivian
It's still uncertain whether the R3 will qualify for the U.S. Federal EV Tax Credit or Canada's iZEV rebate. While the Canadian rebate is more flexible, it offers a lower value of $5,000 CAD ($3,600 USD). In contrast, the U.S. rebate, a tax credit, depends on battery material sourcing and vehicle production. Right now, we expect the R3 to qualify for the full $7,500 USD ($10,000 CAD) USD tax credit.
Charging Capabilities
One of the most important things for the R2 platform, including the R3 and R3X is the inclusion of Tesla’s NACS port and built-in Supercharger functionality. Additionally, the charge port will be moved to the rear left quarter panel – matching the location of Tesla’s NACS port. This will make it easy to fit the R2 and R3 at Tesla Supercharger stalls without blocking an adjacent spot.
The R3 and R3X will both be CCS compatible but will require a CCS-to-NACS adapter. At this point, Rivian does not intend to provide an adapter with the R2, so a third-party adapter will be required unless Rivian releases an OEM option.
Rivian has said that the R3 will be able to charge – on the right chargers – from 10% to 80% in less than 30 minutes. Overall, it’s a reasonable charge rate, and one that we can expect will get better as Rivian improves both the performance and software behind the new 4695 cells.
Autonomy / Self Driving
Rivian
Rivian built up an entirely new autonomy hardware system with its second-generation R1 platform, including 11 cameras, 5 radars, and an updated compute unit. While they haven’t revealed the autonomy capabilities that will be included in the R2 and R3, we expect them to be on par or the same as the current 2025 R1 vehicles.
This is an upgraded autonomy package from the first-generation R1S and R1T MobilEye EyeQ4 “Mid” system. The new system uses MobilEye’s EyeQ5 High, or “MobilEye SuperVision”.
Rivian’s custom compute package also includes hardware from Nvidia, but supposedly this board will be in training mode and non-functional until Rivian launches its own autonomy solution. The MobilEye hardware will be responsible for Rivian’s autonomy features, including full-surround perception, autonomous lane changes, and highway and traffic jam assist – which is essentially an advanced highway lane-keeping assist. Rivian intends to eventually phase out the MobilEye hardware, but we’re not sure when this will happen.
We’ll be diving deep into Rivian’s Driver+, their autonomy solution, in another article soon.
Release Date
The R3 isn’t expected to begin production until 2027. The R3X is expected to launch first, as early as late 2026, or early 2027. Rivian intends to launch the R2 first, sometime in mid-2026, across North America.
A European launch is expected sometime by the end of 2026 for the R2, with deliveries in 2027. This schedule will likely follow for the R3 and R3X, with European deliveries toward the end of 2027 or early 2028.
Unlike the R2, Rivian isn’t taking reservations for the R3 and R3X yet. However, they have mentioned that current owners will be given priority over others, so if you’re interested in a future R3 or R3X at launch, you could look at Rivian’s R1T or R1S Gen 2 today.
We're incredibly excited to see Rivian's R3 and R3X in the future – they have the potential to become some of the world's best-selling vehicles.
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Rivian transitioned to their second-generation vehicles in 2025. One of the goals with their second-gen vehicles was to reduce vehicle costs, so one of the changes was to reduce battery options for these new models.
Rivian slimmed down its battery pack choices by reducing them from four options to three. Instead of offering Standard, Standard+, Large, and Max battery sizes, they now only offer Standard, Large, and Max batteries packs.
However, to reduce complexity further, initial production runs only had two battery sizes — Standard and Max. For customers who ordered a Rivian with a large battery pack, Rivian actually included a Max battery pack software limited to the range of a Large battery. These vehicles were coined as Large+ (Plus) batteries by the community, and Rivian soon adopted the name.
Advantages of a Large+ Battery
For customers who have a software-locked Max battery, there are several perks. Normally, with a lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery, you’d want to avoid charging the vehicle to 100% on a daily basis to prevent premature aging. However, with a software-locked Max battery, customers can actually charge to 100% since the vehicle will stop charging once it hits 100% of the “large” battery.
A Max battery pack can store 140 kWh while a Large is 108.5 kWh, so charging to 100% on a Large+ battery is equivalent to charging to just 78% on a Max battery pack. This lets customers continuously take advantage of their vehicle’s full range without any ill effects on battery degradation — a really nice perk.
However, there’s more. According to Wassym Bensaid, Rivian’s Chief Software Officer, Rivian will soon offer customers the ability to unlock the full benefit of the Max battery pack, essentially purchasing the Max battery after the fact.
This is a really nice option, as some customers may discover they could use the extra range, especially as their battery degrades slowly over the years. It’s not a must-have, but having the option is a great addition.
How to Tell If You Have a Large+ Battery
If you’re not sure if your vehicle has a Large+ battery, you can tell by going to your vehicle settings. Your vehicle should have about 300 miles of range. If it has about 250 miles or 400 miles fully charged, then you have a Standard or Max battery pack.
To check if you have a Large or Large+ battery pack, you’ll need to be in your vehicle and navigate to Settings (gear icon), then tap on the About menu item on the left. You’ll see a rendered model of your vehicle and directly underneath, you’ll see your model, which includes the battery pack size. You should see either Large or Large Plus in the model description.
What You Get By Unlocking
We previously dived deep into Rivian’s battery options for both its Gen 1 and Gen 2 R1 series vehicles, but in short, you can expect your Rivian’s range to increase to the same level as a vehicle with a Max battery pack when unlocking the full capacity of the Max battery.
This will take your Rivian R1S or R1T from about 330 miles of range (531 km) to about 420 miles (676 km), depending on the model.
Range Increase
Model
Large/Large+
Max (Dual Motor)
R1T
330 mi / 531 km
420 mi / 676 km
R1S
330 mi / 531 km
410 mi / 660 km
R1S
Large/Large+
Max (Dual Motor)
330 mi / 531 km
410 mi / 660 km
Price to Unlock Max Battery
While Rivian hasn’t announced the price to unlock the Large+ battery’s full potential, expect it to cost about $6,000. This is the same price as purchasing the Max battery pack at the time of configuring your vehicle, so don’t expect a discount, at least initially.
It’s possible as these vehicles get older, Rivian realizes that people may not want to buy a $6,000 add-on for a 5 or 10-year-old vehicle, and at that point, they may consider lowering the price.
Performance Upgrade: Rivian recently announced the ability to purchase the Performance option for dual motor vehicles as well, so owners of Large+ battery packs can double dip and get the Max battery pack and unlock the Performance version of their vehicle as well. Rivian priced the Performance software upgrade at $5,000, which is also the same price as getting it from the factory.
How to Unlock Large+
While the ability to unlock your Large+ battery pack isn’t available yet, expect the upgrade option to be available in the Rivian app and in the vehicle — similar to the Performance upgrade.
Release Date
Wassym didn’t say when the software battery unlock would arrive, but it seems that it will be coming as part of a future OTA update, which will bring the purchase option to your Rivian. Just like with the Dual Performance upgrade, you’ll be able to use Rivian Reward credits towards the unlock as well.
When purchasing a new Dual Motor Rivian, you might have considered the Performance option, which was offered as a $5,000 upgrade at the time of ordering. However, Rivian is now offering the Performance upgrade as an in-app or in-car purchase for Dual Motor R1S and R1T owners.
The Performance upgrade boosts the vehicle’s horsepower and torque, while also introducing new driving modes.
Features
The Dual Motor Performance upgrade adds additional features to the R1S and R1T vehicles, with the most notable being a major performance boost.
This upgrade increases both horsepower and torque, reducing the 0 to 60 mph time from 4.5 seconds to an impressive 3.4 seconds.
In addition to the power boost, the upgrade introduces new driving modes: Sport, Soft Sand, and Rally. Each mode adds specialized capabilities—Sport for track performance, Rally for off-road adventures, and Soft Sand for tackling sandy terrains.
The Performance upgrade is available for Gen 1 and Gen 2 vehicles.
Config
Dual Motor
Dual Motor Performance
Horsepower
533 hp
655 hp
0-60 mph / 0-100 km/h
4.6 seconds
3.5 seconds
Torque
610 lb-ft
829 lb-ft
Launch Mode Reserved for Tri and Quad
Even if you’re familiar with the roller-coaster-like feeling of launching an EV, the performance upgrade is going to be a big step up, and it’ll be a useful upgrade for off-roading too. The noticeable increase in horsepower not only helps you launch with more power but also makes crawling over rocks or pushing through water more effortless.
However, for owners hoping to take their R1 series vehicles to the track, there’s something to keep in mind—this upgrade, just like buying a Dual Motor Performance model, doesn’t include Launch Mode. That feature is only reserved for the Tri and Quad configurations.
Price
If you’re craving a bit more power or want to relive the thrill of launching your Rivian for the first time, the Performance upgrade is likely a great choice. It adds over 120 horsepower, giving you about a 25% boost in performance.
The upgrade costs $5,000 USD / $7,000 CAD, whether purchased over-the-air or at the factory. If you own a Dual Motor Rivian, you can easily buy it through the app or the vehicle itself, available with software update 2024.06 or later.
