Welcome to the future, where your vehicle knows you’re getting ready to use it, or if someone new and unfamiliar is getting behind the wheel.
In a viral video with more than 500,000 views, TikTok user Jana Askeland (@realmomcartours) shows the process of entering a new Rivian RS1.
Holding the key card handed to her by a salesperson (their send-off message: “Welcome to the future”) the door handle on the electric SUV pops out for her to enter, almost welcoming her like a familiar friendly face.
Woman buys 2025 Rivian
“This is so wild,” is her response, which is saying something since Askeland worked many years in the auto industry and now creates content specifically about SUVs and other automobiles aimed at families or large groups.
But it’s not just the card that works the Rivian’s magic. The brand, which is owned by a consortium of investor groups that includes Amazon, makes it possible to enter and start the vehicles in a variety of ways. That includes smartphone, a fob that’s basically military-graded durable, and a wristband in addition to the key card.
There’s plenty of other ways the Rivian was designed to make manual controls seem like relics of the ancient past. Here’s some of them:
- Voice-activated commands for navigation, cabin temperature, and entertainment
- remote software updates to keep its operating system as current as possible
- personalized cabin settings that adjust based on what driver and passenger profiles are approaching
Driving toward the future
For anyone raised prior to the 21st century, when windows operated via crank and you needed actual keys to open and start the car, all of these digital creature comforts may seem intimidating at first.
There are, of course, some drawbacks to a mostly digital smart vehicle. Software bugs and system crashes are a background worry for anything digital these days, but with the digital ninjas at Amazon having so much skin in the Rivian game that feels like a very remote possibility.
And with so many options for adjusting and exploring what’s possible within the car, it’s reasonable to be concerned that drivers might become distracted behind the wheel. Though that’s hardly a new concern in the industry since automakers have been adding bells, whistles, and new creature comforts pretty much since the automobile was first invented.
Where’s the fob?
As excited as Askeland was about the Rivian’s embrace of new technology, commenters on her clip felt like reliance on a key card was inviting disaster since they can be easy to lose.
One user joked, “I already lost mine and I don’t even have a Rivian.”
Another came out much more in favor of the fob.
“Wouldn’t it be easier just to have a key fob?” they asked, with an apparent Rivian fan clarifying; “The card is the backup. keep it in your wallet. Worst case just borrow someone’s phone to get in.”
And one said the look at the Rivian’s access system caused them to take the vehicle off their purchase list.
“Nice car but definitely no for the key. I’m looking for an SUV and marked this off my list now,” wrote one user.
@realmomcartours The 2025 Rivian R1S is an EV / SUV with 3 rows. And the 2024 R1S earned the coveted TOP SAFETY PICK award from IIHS, the only American EV in the Large SUV category to do so (as of September 2024). #rivian #r1s #evsuv #ev #iihs #instagood #familycar #rivianr1s #heelsandwheels @Rivian ♬ original sound – Real Mom Car Tours
The Daily Dot reached out to Jana via direct message, and to Rivian via email.
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