Rivian is preparing owners to use Tesla Superchargers fitted with the “Magic Dock” in its newest Over-the-Air update.
Tesla opened select Superchargers in the United States to other electric vehicle manufacturers last month, which has been a successful program thus far.
The decision by Tesla to open various charging piles around the U.S. to other EV makers helps it qualify for a slice of $7.5 billion in government funding, which required charging makers to develop non-specific or non-dedicated chargers that were only operational with set manufacturers.
Tesla makes its own chargers and has long held a sizeable advantage in EV charging due to the sheer size of its infrastructure and its dependability.
Here’s how Tesla appears to be rolling out the Magic Dock
Now, Rivian is helping owners take advantage of the Supercharger Network by adding locations in the in-car navigation.
As a part of Rivian Software Update 2023.10.00, Tesla Superchargers will now appear in Rivian’s in-car navigation:
“Your vehicle now shows select Tesla Supercharger locations with a Magic Dock in the Navigation app’s charger filters. A Magic Dock allows you to charge your Rivian at select Tesla Supercharger locations. These locations also show in the Rivian mobile app version 1.12 or later. To charge at a Tesla Supercharger, you need to download the Tesla app.”
Select Rivian owners have already utilized the Supercharger Network run by Tesla, and reviews have been mixed thus far. The most notable is that of well-known tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, who said his experience was chaotic due to the congestion the program could cause.
“Suddenly, you’re taking up two spots for what would normally be one,” he said.
The Superchargers are already optimized for Tesla vehicles, which have their port located on the rear of the vehicle. Other cars are forced to double park or park awkwardly to take advantage of the charging system.
“If I was like a huge Tesla person I would probably be worried about you know my own Tesla experience,” Brownlee added. “Will it get worse because more people are charging? Potentially, you’ll have more people waiting in line more people taking up more spots.”
Rivian is also adding a new TuneIn Premium Trial, giving owners a year of free service. Plug and Charge will also allow a more seamless experience at Rivian Adventure Network and Waypoint Chargers.
Rivian’s full 2023.10.00 release notes are available below (via Rivian.Software):
New TuneIn Premium Trial
An exclusive TuneIn Premium trial for 365 days is now available for Rivian customers. With TuneIn Premium you have access to:
- Every MLB and NHL game. Live. No blackouts.
- Nonstop news coverage. Commercial free.
- Less ads on 100,000 radio stations.
Note: You may lose access to TuneIn Premium channels unless you activate the free trial or have a Premium account.
Tesla Supercharger Network Now Available In Navigation Charger Filters
Your vehicle now shows select Tesla Supercharger locations with a Magic Dock in the Navigation app’s charger filters. A Magic Dock allows you to charge your Rivian at select Tesla Supercharger locations. These locations also show in the Rivian mobile app version 1.12 or later. To charge at a Tesla Supercharger, you need to download the Tesla app.
Plug and Charge
This release enables vehicle Plug and Charge functionality when charging on the Rivian Adventure Network and Waypoint Chargers, in order to provide a seamless experience.
Note: This feature will be introduced on the Rivian Adventure Network and Waypoint Chargers on a rolling basis.
New Third Row Fan Control (R1S ONLY)
The second- and third-row seats now have separate controls for your convenince. For access, choose the temperature with the Fan icon on the center display. Then choose Middle to access the second-row climate controls, or choose Back to access the third-row fan controls.
Additional Improvements
- Highway Assist has been improved to reduce the frequency of hands-on warnings when Highway Assist is active in stop-and-go traffic scenarios. You still must remain attentive and should be prepared to take control of the vehicle at any time while Highway Assist is engaged. For more information, please see the Owner’s Guide.
- You can now open and close your liftgate with the mobile app version 1.12 and later (R1S ONLY)
- You can now open your tailgate with the mobile app version 1.12 and later (R1T ONLY)
- Improved range loss when a phone key is near the vehicle for long periods of time.
- Improved phone key and key fob proximity unlocking consistency.
- You can now toggle exterior lock sound on and off. Choose Settings > Vehicle > Access > Lock Sound (exterior).
- Added a text label to state your key fob’s battery level inside of Settings > Drivers and Keys. The indicator text will appear when the battery level is medium or low only.
- Hotspot Improvements
- You can now choose the Hotspot button in the status bar to toggle the hotspot on or off and open hotspot settings.
- Fixed an issue where quickly toggling the hotspot on and off indefinitely disabled it until you restarted the vehicle.
- Media Fixes and Improvements
- You can scroll through your Favorites with the left thumb control on the steering wheel.
- Fixed a rare issue where TIDAL crashed when trying to perform a text search.
- Fixed an occasional issue where the Bluetooth media player showed the incorrect play/pause state.
- Fixed an occasional issue where the radio wouldn’t resume playing after returning to your vehicle within five minutes.
- After you remove the charging cable, the charge port door no longer automatically closes after 30 seconds. The charge port door closes automatically when you drive the vehicle. You can also manually close it from the center display or using the sensor on the charge port door.
- Fixed an issue where an erroneous notification was shown when attempting to use Adaptive Cruise Control while stability control was disabled in vehicle settings.
- Fixed a rare issue that caused inconsistent lane centering when Highway Assist was active.
- Fixed an occasional issue where you would see an unrelated notification when switching between day and night mode.
- Fixed a very rare issue that caused an internal loss of communication when turning on a vehicle, which drained the 12 V batteries.
Keyword: Rivian prepares owners for Tesla Supercharger use in latest OTA update