Rivian R1T pre-order holders, check in here

[RLXXI]

I've seen too many EV startups go bust to get my hopes up too high.
Even Rivian worries me (I think they need a lot more capital investment), but at least they have a solid product and a factory.

Which is why I'm so excited about the Ford F150 EV that's on the way. Rivian does make it a point to state they are after the Range Rover segment so the pair shouldn't have any issues against each other in the market. It's very enticing knowing Ford's world wide infrastructure for customer support.

 

[Domenick]

Which is why I'm so excited about the Ford F150 EV that's on the way. Rivian does make it a point to state they are after the Range Rover segment so the pair shouldn't have any issues against each other in the market. It's very enticing knowing Ford's world wide infrastructure for customer support.

I have more faith in a startup making a useful EV than Ford. But that's mostly because I know the startup will be giving it their all, from the top to of the company to the bottom. Not to say Ford's won't be good -- it will likely be more amenable to a wider swath of consumer -- just that I, personally, like to support the little guy.

 

[RLXXI]

I have more faith in a startup making a useful EV than Ford. But that's mostly because I know the startup will be giving it their all, from the top to of the company to the bottom. Not to say Ford's won't be good -- it will likely be more amenable to a wider swath of consumer -- just that I, personally, like to support the little guy.

In that same respect Ford has a lot more assets for RnD, supply chains, etc...... than any start up could ever hope to have. I'm watching both equally and look forward to what ever outcome there is. Only thing I can say with any certainty is I won't be buying a 1st year model anything, give them time to work the bugs out. I worked for Ford for 11 years so I am not letting that "gotta have latest greatest" bug bite me.

 

[interestedinEV]

I have more faith in a startup making a useful EV than Ford. But that's mostly because I know the startup will be giving it their all, from the top to of the company to the bottom. Not to say Ford's won't be good -- it will likely be more amenable to a wider swath of consumer -- just that I, personally, like to support the little guy.

While, I like to support the litte guy, your point is well taken. The start up has to be scrappy and they have no choice but to fight. On the other hand, Ford has squandered a lot of good opportunities, they could have been in the market in a big way today. So while they have lot stenghts and capabilities, they are fighting against the biggest obstacle, internal culture that does not understand the existential threat that EVs pose. Small forays here and there will not help, it needs the do or die mentality, which Ford has not show.

 

[battles2a5]

Placed my order today. First EV, lots of questions, but love the philosophy behind Rivian, the performance looks to be way better than ICE alternatives, really excited about the autonomous features, and Amazon just dumped a bunch of money on them so this is looking more realistic.

 

[interestedinEV]

Placed my order today. First EV, lots of questions, but love the philosophy behind Rivian, the performance looks to be way better than ICE alternatives, really excited about the autonomous features, and Amazon just dumped a bunch of money on them so this is looking more realistic.

The way I look at it is they have big backers (GM included), they have qualified staff and have a fighting chance. I would say it is an acceptable risk but still a risk. Again, your point for view, you can technically get your money back at anytime (provided they do not go bankrupt), in which case you are unsecured creditor and at the bottom of the pole. The other thing going is that they will not have as many orders as Tesla (Model 3), who claim to have raised around $450 million that way. Most of them did not turn into orders, but Tesla got free run of the cash for more than a year. Rivian is likely to have less orders and hence under greater pressure to deliver earlier.

 

[Ralph Stoker]

Deposit in. Looking forward to more details as the delivery date gets closer.

 

[Domenick]

Deposit in. Looking forward to more details as the delivery date gets closer.

Awesome! Looks like they're going to the New York Auto Show, so we may get some more info then.

 

[EVTechnoRat84]

I just put down a preorder yesterday for the R1S. After researching them over the last couple months, since their release at the LA Auto Show, I think they're going to blow away our expectations with these vehicles.

My one question to this forum is about what RJ said after the debut event about preorders. He said something about offering some Rivian swag when putting down a preorder, am I remembering that correctly? If so, when does one expect that swag to arrive?

 

[VJS695]

I just put down a preorder yesterday for the R1S. After researching them over the last couple months, since their release at the LA Auto Show, I think they're going to blow away our expectations with these vehicles.

My one question to this forum is about what RJ said after the debut event about preorders. He said something about offering some Rivian swag when putting down a preorer, am I remembering that correctly? If so, when does one expect that swag to arrive?

I have not placed preorder yet but i often wondered myself with all preorders happening now what will be expected, maybe a keychain, a model, poster. Maybe a special invite to something, but i think i read that the swag should be happening soon, hopefully if i get a chance to see the R1S in person and ask some questions I will be placing my order.

 

[Domenick]

I just put down a preorder yesterday for the R1S. After researching them over the last couple months, since their release at the LA Auto Show, I think they're going to blow away our expectations with these vehicles.

My one question to this forum is about what RJ said after the debut event about preorders. He said something about offering some Rivian swag when putting down a preorder, am I remembering that correctly? If so, when does one expect that swag to arrive?

They were asked about this on Twitter in December by Tim11007435 (if that really is his name), and they responded thusly:


Haven't heard of anyone receiving swag yet, so I guess it's still on the way.

 

[Killbert]

I just pre-ordered mine.

I have a Tundra and a Prius to sell...

Kellyn

 

[krcossin]

I placed my deposit! Here is the confirmation email for those interested: ( deleted the "details" link just in case it had my private info attached)

Your Rivian preorder is confirmed.

If at any time you decide you'd like to switch models, no need to cancel your order and lose your place in line — when it’s time to configure your vehicle, you’ll be able to switch between the R1T and R1S.

Production will begin in 2020. Fully equipped vehicles with the highest performance level and largest battery pack will enter production first. Our 180 kWh and 135 kWh packs will be available at launch with the 105 kWh to follow in 2021.

Let the adventure begin.

Please Note: You can cancel your preorder and receive a full refund at anytime by sending an email to [email protected]. Rivian will execute your refund within 3 business days. Depending on your bank, you may not be able to access the refunded amount for up to 7 days.

Order summary

Rivian Pre-order × 1
Rivian Truck
$1,000.00

Subtotal

$1,000.00
Shipping

$0.00
Total

$1,000.00 USD

I live very close to their Plymouth Michigan headquarters. I even had a relative that worked in that old Burroughs plant making cash registers and adding machines back in the day.
Rivian has installed several charging stations along the front row of parking, sorry I didn't get out and inspect them, but my guess is they are SAE Combo CCS. I own a 2016 Volt, and love it, have a 50amp 250v at home. My use for this is mostly commuting to work and our weekend home which is only 50 miles away, we have a Suburban for long distance road trips. Looking forward to this start-up success, and learning more. Miss my Jeep Wrangler, I'm sort a looking forward to raising the suspension and trying out the R1T's climbing abilities!

 

[Domenick]

I just pre-ordered mine.

I have a Tundra and a Prius to sell...

Kellyn

This seems like the perfect replacement for both of those. Two vehicles in one!

 

[Domenick]

I placed my deposit! Here is the confirmation email for those interested: ( deleted the "details" link just in case it had my private info attached)

Your Rivian preorder is confirmed.

If at any time you decide you'd like to switch models, no need to cancel your order and lose your place in line — when it’s time to configure your vehicle, you’ll be able to switch between the R1T and R1S.

Production will begin in 2020. Fully equipped vehicles with the highest performance level and largest battery pack will enter production first. Our 180 kWh and 135 kWh packs will be available at launch with the 105 kWh to follow in 2021.

Let the adventure begin.

Please Note: You can cancel your preorder and receive a full refund at anytime by sending an email to [email protected]. Rivian will execute your refund within 3 business days. Depending on your bank, you may not be able to access the refunded amount for up to 7 days.

Order summary

Rivian Pre-order × 1
Rivian Truck
$1,000.00

Subtotal

$1,000.00
Shipping

$0.00
Total

$1,000.00 USD

I live very close to their Plymouth Michigan headquarters. I even had a relative that worked in that old Burroughs plant making cash registers and adding machines back in the day.
Rivian has installed several charging stations along the front row of parking, sorry I didn't get out and inspect them, but my guess is they are SAE Combo CCS. I own a 2016 Volt, and love it, have a 50amp 250v at home. My use for this is mostly commuting to work and our weekend home which is only 50 miles away, we have a Suburban for long distance road trips. Looking forward to this start-up success, and learning more. Miss my Jeep Wrangler, I'm sort a looking forward to raising the suspension and trying out the R1T's climbing abilities!

If you ever see something happening over there, it would be great to hear about it! Can't wait to for an event where we can try this thing out for ourselves on an offroad course of some sort. Onroad too, of course, but driving offroad over challenging terrain is so, so fun.

 

[Jarross]

I've sent them an email inquiry regarding this as well. No response yet.

 

[timf]

I haven't received swag in the mail, but I did get a t-shirt and fancy water bottle (which they indicated were for pre-order holders only) for attending an event they held in January.

 

[Jarross]

I've sent them an email inquiry regarding this as well. No response yet.

Received a reply yesterday. They aren't revealing preorder numbers at this time. They gave no indication as to when that might happen.

 

[interestedinEV]

Received a reply yesterday. They aren't revealing preorder numbers at this time. They gave no indication as to when that might happen.

Here is there problem. I do not know if Tesla really had 450,000 pre-orders (they have not yet sold 450,000 Model 3s and obviously there is no backlog) but for now let us assume they had the orders and many cancelled. However, all new pre-orders will be compared with Tesla and if it is small, it will cast a negative impression. Even 20,000 pre-orders is very good number for a company with no product on the market, no larger than life personality, yet it pales when compared with 450,000. It is unlikely Rivian will revel it till they are close to production or if they actually unless have a large number of pre-orders say more than 50K. which is about 2 years prodution (assuming there are cancellations)

 

[Pushmi-Pullyu]

...all new pre-orders will be compared with Tesla and if it is small, it will cast a negative impression. Even 20,000 pre-orders is very good number for a company with no product on the market, no larger than life personality, yet it pales when compared with 450,000.

Yeah, there are probably clueless people who will indeed compare Rivian's reservation numbers (assuming they announce them) with the reservation numbers for the Model 3. (And by the way, there were well over 500,000 paid reservations for the Model 3; it's just that some were cancelled, so that the net amount apparently never went over 455,000.)

But the Model 3 reservations were only $1000 apiece for a car touted at $35,000. Rivian's vehicles are optimistically priced at, as I recall, over $50k (and in my opinion, based on years of watching the EV industry, that price will likely rise as the R1T and/or R1S approach actual production). It would be far more reasonable to compare to Tesla's pre-orders for the Model S. I don't know that Tesla ever gave us an exact number on that, but my Google-fu finds references to 10,000 pre-orders.

There is no guarantee that Rivian will succeed. But it looks to me like Rivian is in a much better financial position than Tesla was at similar point in its development. I'm optimistic that Rivian will be a solid success, and I'm hopeful that Rivian will grow to be the first auto maker to offer Tesla some real competition -- on the basis of quantity, not just quality!

Go Rivian!