Rivian's New Halloween Mode: Turn Pedestrians Into Zombies, Witches With Spooky Sounds And More

Electric vehicle (EV) Rivian Automotive RIVN is one of several companies that have launched electric pickup trucks.

For Halloween, the Irvine, California-based company is stepping it up with new features available through a software update.

What Happened: Shares of Rivian have struggled in the last month thanks to a number of factors including macroeconomic concerns, weak earnings from rival Tesla and concerns over debt and liquidity.

The company launched new updates for its Halloween mode. Drivers of the Rivian R1 vehicles can view pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists as zombies and witches on the in-vehicle screen using the new update.

The update, shared by Teslarati, is accessible through the Rivian mobile app. In settings, a user can select the Halloween tab and select the “make it spooky” option.

As the Halloween mode is turned on, the accent lights of the R1 vehicles turn green.

Another feature is a pumpkin rolling out on the ADAS view when the liftgate, door or trunk is opened.

The newest update also includes a famous Halloween organ sound that plays when the vehicle is locked and unlocked.

Related Link: Rivian's Road Is Clear Following Capital Raise, UBS Sees Several Catalysts Ahead  

Sneak peek at the @Rivian @RivianSoftware 2023 Halloween mode a few days early. I must say I liked last year's owl hoot better over the organ music. pic.twitter.com/YE4hcHOBI4

— Adam (@adamUCF) October 18, 2023

Why It’s Important: The company said the Halloween update is one example of over-the-air updates it can conduct to improve its vehicles for users.

“This feature is a fun, topical illustration of an industry-wide shift towards ‘software-defined vehicles’ – vehicles that continuously evolve, managing their operations, adding functionalities and enabling new features primarily through software,” Rivian said, as shared by Teslarati.

Tesla regularly launches over-the-air updates to users and has also been known to have several holiday modes, including a Santa mode.

Along with launching the recent Halloween update over the weekend, Rivian recently shared an update on its highly anticipated Georgia manufacturing facility.

The company said the new manufacturing facility will have capacity to make 400,000 units annually when fully complete.

The new facility is said to be 95% graded and ready for construction to begin. A formal groundbreaking ceremony is coming in “early 2024” according to the company.

RIVN Price Action: Rivian shares trade at $17.22 versus a 52-week trading range of $11.68 to $36.45. Shares of Rivian are down over 40% in the last year.

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