The weather is getting warmer, tailgating season is upon us, and Rivian may just make the best vehicles for the well loved practice. While you can tailgate in pretty much anything you can fit a folding table into, the high-end EVs have a few features that help take things to the next level.
Firstly, it’s an EV. That means there are a bunch of standard features that help make a party go smoothly, no matter where you’re parked. This includes plenty of 120 volt outlets capable of providing up to 1,500 watts (or 1,800 watts briefly) between them. The vehicle can power essential home appliances for up to a week, so the chances of it running out of battery during a short event are slim.
Then there are comfy seats, WiFi, and a decent infotainment system that includes the ability to watch movies and play games. Which is all good if someone needs to decompress inside the vehicles, but what about a more traditional tailgating scenario?
You can buy an official “travel kitchen”
Top level tailgating often involves firing up a grill so you can cook up fresh hot dogs and burgers. But with a Rivian you can leave the charcoal at home. The company has an official “travel kitchen” which contains a couple of hotplates and everything else you need to cook up a meal on the go. Which makes it ideal for camping, or tailgating.
It pairs well with features like the “camp mode auto leveling” which uses the suspension system to level out the vehicle on uneven ground. So even if you’re parked on a slope, you should still be able to cook a meal on an even surface.
Admittedly, at $1,400 it’s a very pricey accessory. Plus, it’s just plugging into one of the many 120v outlets Rivian has dotted around its vehicles. So there’s nothing really stopping you nabbing a cheaper hot plate and using that instead.
Still, if you think the included prep space, utensil drawer, and travel bag justify the cost you can splash out on the official accessory. If not, there are a few other areas where the R1T and R1S stand out.
Rivians did have a removable speaker
Until recently, Rivians featured a “camp speaker” that could be removed from the center console and moved to a different area of the vehicle. Okay, it isn’t quite as quirky as Toyota’s “party mode,” but it is a solid way to bring music to the back of a Rivian. Overall, it can pump out high-quality audio for over six and a half hours. It can also double as a battery bank, though the Rivian itself is full of power outlets and chargers.
Unfortunately, reviews of the speaker were mixed. Users frequently complained about glitches, while others questioned the audio quality of the supposedly high-end device. Rivian withdrew the speaker from sale in early 2026, which is a bit of a shame. Yes other, likely more functional, Bluetooth speakers are widely available. But it’s always nice to have a built in accessory, so it’s a shame the EV manufacturer couldn’t make this one work.
There are still a few other features that make up for the loss of the speaker. Rivian has a fully drainable frunk, which allows you to use it as a cooler and either keep the meat for the grill cold, or stack it with beverages, or both.
Yes, this feature isn’t a Rivian exclusive. But it is still one of the few actual uses for a frunk when you have plenty of cargo space elsewhere in the vehicle. Overall, you can definitely kit other vehicles out in a similar way. But as far as standard features and official accessories go, there’s an argument that Rivian has an edge when it comes to tailgating in 2026.
