The new standard in automotive drive mode customization might not be limited to just two vehicles for long depending how things play out at Rivian. I’m saying there’s a chance.
Sitting inside a 2026 Rivian R1T Quad in Lake Tahoe, California the automaker’s Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid told The Drive the new RAD Tuner feature is being considered as a possible upgrade for other models.
The RAD Tuner, which is like an equalizer for your EV’s powertrain enabling the customization and ability to dial in an ideal drive mode through 10 different performance parameters, would be probably limited to “performance models,” Bensaid said.
Today Rivian offers, by its count, four powertrains: Dual Standard, Dual, Tri, and Quad. Arguably there’s a fifth powertrain in the form of the Dual with the $5,000 Performance upgrade, which is really just software uncorking the electric motors to up output, drop the 0-60 mph sprint time, and add drive modes. Bensaid said the Dual Performance, Tri, and Quad are all viewed as “performance models” internally.
Digging in, aside from battery, motor and or power output differences, there’s drive mode disparities that seem to be a separation point for what the Rivian team considered a “performance model.” Dual Standard models only have All-Purpose, Snow, and All-Terrain drive modes. It’s not until the Dual Performance model that Rally, Sport, and Soft Sand drive modes become unlocked. Bensaid didn’t say it, but it almost seems like whether a Rivian has Sport mode or not is the tipping point to whether it’s considered a performance model.
And while the team is talking internally about whether to offer the RAD Tuner, presumably at a cost, in other performance models, it wouldn’t be the same. In the Quad the RAD Tuner opens Pandora’s Box of variables including acceleration, region, brake assist, steering assist, ride height, torque balance, wheel slip, stability control, damping, and roll stiffness. Bensaid said the Quad’s four-motor powertrain enable’s this level of control and customization. Dual-motor models with the Performance upgrade or the Tri would have less variables and customization due to less control and fewer motors, Bensaid noted. The software exec would not elaborate which specific variables might be removed in a dubbed-down version of the RAD Tuner for other models. Every R1T and R1S comes standard with adaptive dampers and air suspension and electric power steering.
But those three performance variants are soon to be joined by smaller siblings. Next year the Rivian R2 will arrive with single-, dual-, and tri-motor variants. Rivian’s previously said the tri-motor variant will do 0-60 mph in under three-seconds. Undoubtedly that model will be considered a “performance model” by Bensaid and the team. Whether there will be an R2 with a dual-motor performance upgrade is unknown, but I wouldn’t bet against it.
This is all before the same three powertrains arrive in an even smaller sibling known as R3 … sometime after R2. But given Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has already said the jacked up hot-hatch known as the R3X (think R3 with tri-motor powertrain, all-terrain tires, and a rally-car vibe) will arrive before the Plain Jane R3, the enthusiast excitement is real. So is the Rad Tuner possibilities, apparently.
For now, the RAD Tuner will arrive in September for the R1T and R1S Quad as a free over-the-air (OTA) software update. Bensaid wouldn’t give a timeline on when the RAD Tuner might be offered in other performance variants. Of course, that’s only if the team decides to go that route. The bigger question might become how much will are you willing to pay to get the Rad Tuner in your Rivian?
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As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media.
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