Casey Liss, responding to the recent Decoder episode where Nilay Patel interviewed Rivian CEO Wassym Bensaid, and of course, discussed Rivian’s decision to not offer CarPlay in its vehicles:
CarPlay is optional. CarPlay is additive.
Drivers don’t have to use CarPlay!!
If Rivian’s native UI is so great, then their customers… won’t use CarPlay. It’s that simple.
Nobody is asking for CarPlay to be mandatory. We just want to have it as an option.
Amen.
Ultimately, the only thing I can control is myself, and I will not buy a car that does not offer CarPlay. I enjoy Rivian so much — both from afar and as someone who has driven both a R1T and R1S — that I really thought about getting on the waiting list for a R2. And I don’t even want a SUV!
I did put down a deposit to be on the waiting list for an R2. And I have to say, I really think it looks awesome, and I hope it ends up being the success that Rivian apparently needs it to be. But I cancelled my reservation and bought something else, despite being very interested in the R2, and the stubborn insistence to not offer CarPlay was a primary reason.
CarPlay is Additive
I don’t understand why these EV manufacturers… don’t understand.