Lastly, neither the R1T nor the R1S will have a tank turn. During a Q&A session, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said that the feature had been taken out, even though it had been promised for the electric adventure vehicle and even shown in a video. It won’t be available on any Rivian car in the future, and it won’t be available on any Rivian car now, either. Several years ago, the internet was all about the tank turn. Rivian and Mercedes both showed electric off-roaders doing similar party tricks, and it quickly became the topic of conversation among dudes and bros whenever a battery-powered 4×4 was brought up. Even though it wasn’t true. After Rivian first showed the tank turn, many off-road fans noticed that it was terrible for trails and made huge ruts and holes that hurt the environment. Scaringe says that this is why the tank turn is being taken out. Over the past 18 months, we’ve concluded that it’s a feature that, while It’s easy, is so easy to abuse, and it’s so hard to make sure we don’t tear up trails and do things that contradict our firm values,” Scaringe said. EVs can do this because they have a lot of motors that can control each wheel separately. For the R1T, a planned software update would let it spin in place while some of its wheels moved forward and others moved backward. Trail Turn Assist, found on the Ford Bronco, locks the inside rear wheel while the other reels spin. This helps the truck turn more safely. Rivian’s choice to stop working on this project is essential because it has already been developed and tested at a high cost. When someone changes their mind about something that costs money and a lot of customers, it shows a real commitment to respecting the terrain and trails that off-road enthusiasts want to experience. If this function were built into every R1T, Owners would decide to use it wisely. Scaringe and Rivian want their trucks never to tank turn at all.
