It was a thrill helping bring SXSW to life this year.
For the festival, we transformed our Austin space (located at 208 S. Congress) into the Rivian Electric Roadhouse, a concept that drew inspiration from a classic Texas roadhouse and Rivian's commitment to all-electric vehicles. See below for other highlights from the festival!
Rivian Founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, sat down with Justine Ezarik (from iJustine) in a wide-ranging mainstage conversation that focused on the evolution of Rivian, the integration of AI in vehicles, self-driving cars, robots and how we think about the future of electric vehicles. Audio of this conversation can be found here.
Rivian hosted a variety of panels both at the Electric Roadhouse and ACC, including a panel about Color Theory with Rivian Chief Design Officer, Jeff Hammoud, and a panel about the future of connected cars featuring Google, Qualcomm and Rivian Chief Software Officer, Wassym Bensaid.
Rivian’s Director of Advanced Energy Solutions, Andrew Peterman, joined a panel about optimizing America’s energy transition, and strategies for deploying affordable clean energy in places that benefit the most. Listen to the full panel here.
We brought together Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster for a bipartisan discussion moderated by Rivian Public Policy Manager, Hannah Steinweg. The conversation focused on how EVs strengthen our communities and contribute to the United States’ leadership abroad. Watch the full discussion here.
We welcomed festival goers and anyone interested in experiencing the on-road and off-road capabilities of a Rivian at our Electric Joyride activation that allowed people to ride shotgun on a closed outdoor obstacle course built out of recycled asphalt – right in Downtown Austin!
Rivian Commercial Vans could be spotted around Austin, including a custom-wrapped Olive and June mobile mani truck.
We hosted a variety of activations at the Electric Roadhouse throughout the week, including live broadcasts from Los Angeles radio station KCRW; a live cooking demo on the Rivian Travel Kitchen and podcast recording of Your Mama’s Kitchen hosted by Michelle Norris; immersive listening experiences in the Dolby Airstream; and recycled crafting with Are You Mad, a recycled-waste design studio.
Live music could be heard at the Electric Roadhouse throughout the week, including Dolby Sunset sessions, and performances by Chaparelle and Julien Baker and TORRES, hosted by SOLARPUNKS. Friday night, St. Vincent played a live set in front of a packed house at the Electric Roadhouse.
We closed out the festival with a fitness class and wellness event Saturday morning.
We had a blast at SXSW, and are excited to come back to Austin as a headline sponsor next year, too!Â
© 2026 Rivian
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)