Photo Credit: Rivian R2 Electric SUV

Rivian’s new R2 electric SUV will (concerningly) require an internet connection to listen to music or radio, omitting AM and FM radio entirely.

Vehicles from some of the biggest manufacturers in the world no longer ship with AM radio, which has been a thorn in the side of many buyers and lawmakers. Lawmakers assert that AM radio is integral to emergency broadcasts in rural communities. Now, even FM radio is at risk of being omitted from new vehicles, and it’s already happening.

The first new cars not to ship with even a basic FM radio include entry-level versions of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, but the new Rivian R2 also omits it. Instead, the R2 offers the Rivian Digital Radio, which is powered by iHeartRadio. That service combines digital radio with the ability to tune into FM and AM stations, so presumably Rivian’s solution will do the same.

But iHeartRadio requires cell coverage—meaning that a typical R2 owner looking to head out into the wilderness in their SUV will not have internet access and therefore will not have radio. The R2 also supports Apple Music, Audible, Spotify, Tidal, and TuneIn—all services that require internet access, either in the form of the Connect+ package or a personal WiFi hotspot.

As evidenced by posts on Reddit, for many, the lack of traditional radio is a deal-breaker. And that makes sense, given that the target audience for the vehicle is the sort of person who enjoys traveling into the wilderness and rural areas. Without traditional radio, it can be impossible to secure a signal to allow for the streaming of music while driving out in the woods, to say nothing of the lack of emergency broadcast services that AM radio provides.

Vehicle manufacturers have been champing at the bit to discard AM radio, with research suggesting that keeping it could cost the industry as much as $3.8 billion over the next seven years as of 2023. Lawmakers have clapped back, calling on automakers to keep AM radio in their EVs in the form of a bipartisan bill to mandate the inclusion of radio receivers in new vehicles.

But with manufacturers moving to omit even FM radio from their vehicles, it seems it’s going to take more work from lawmakers to find a solution.