Buying high end EV from start up

[LoneStar]

I'll tell you right now that I'm nowhere near normal.... (was that the question?)

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[kanundrum]

#10812 May of 2019. I am not really concerned as weird as it sounds. I am about the drive/vehicle and from what I can tell it looks like everything I want it to be which is typically a tough call. The past 4 cars I bought with out even driving, I know what looks good on paper and how it translated to real world and I can tell I am in love with this platform. All sounds very strange and very Non-Normal but I'm batting 4/4 and haven't been disappointed yet.

 

[tnawara]

Are you close to Normal?

Nov 29, 2018 deposit and R1S LE pre-order here. Although I'm nowhere close to normal, I *am* near Normal, IL (in the Chicago western suburbs) and hope to arrange factory delivery when the time comes. Looking forward to possible contact from my Guide sometime late Summer / early Fall.

 

[Trandall]

Anyone else concerned about buying an expensive EV vehicle from startup (remember Fisker)? I have my deposit on a launch edition RTS but keep thinking about having the hope and faith in a brand new company albeit the large investment from Amazon and Ford.

To me the amount of risk with buying an expensive EV from a startup is somewhat proportional to your income/ wealth. For me the total cost of purchase, sans tax credit, is approaching my yearly salary... so yes risky. I preordered 2/2020 and am confident I will be happy with my choice. The consensus is that; Yes their will be growing pains; Yes the R1 will improve if you wait; No this will not be another DeLorean situation. My opinion is that build quality, performance and service will all exceed what we have seen from Tesla thus far. Congratulations on your leap of faith.

 

[Pherdnut]

Given the confidence they showed in lending early prototypes to Long Way Up, the first truck off a production line for the Rebelle Rally, the immense amount of testing they've demoed throughout development, and that these are EVs and not ICE, I'm more confident in Rivian than I would be of a new ICE model from an established manufacturer. And a hell of a lot more confident than I would be buying anything from Tesla near the end of a fiscal quarter.

 

[bowhunter]

Are you close to Normal?

Isn't that kind of a personal question?

Haha, no I am in Oregon though certainly considering travelling to Normal if that is offered as a delivery option and the timing fits my schedule.

 

[888tom888]

This will be my first experience as a launch customer. I believe the excitement of having a Rivian early on will hopefully supersede the inevitable upgrades that will come as the brand matures. I hope that most of the cool tech will be baked into the software. If so, then cool I don't believe they will be modifying the body work radically for many years. Kind of the same way Tesla is too busy trying to scale to introduce radical body changes. In addition, I love the looks of the Rivian so I think it will be ok. Go Bold or go home right?

 

[PAFDenver]

Not concerned at all. I bought a Tesla in 2013 when there was ZERO charging infrastructure and everyone thought EVs were a boondoggle and was never really worried.
As far as the technology goes, I actually consider it to be proven at this point. Motors are dead-simple and have been around for centuries now. The electronics are completely proven and power things much more complex that cars. Li batteries are well proven. The rest is software and that's easy to improve.
As far as the charging goes, I bought in when supercharges were a twinkle in Elon's eyes, so charging now is a complete non-issue for me.
All that leaves is the company itself. That's the only real risk I see and with Ford & Amazon's backing I consider it a pretty safe (but not 100% safe) bet. As I see it, I've got $1K that they will deliver the vehicle (without going bankrupt) and then a further ~$70K bet that the truck isn't a POS. Considering where I am in line, I think I will have 6-12 months or other people's experiences to decide whether that $70K bet is worth it or not.

 

[HJP1]

According to the WSJ a number of EV and EV battery startups that went public all hit snags missing their IPO projections, much harder than than it looks!

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ev-com...5isb71iayff&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

[DucRider]

None of those other startups got $8B of private investment money during their startup/development phase.
Some were taking advantage of the SPAC craze, others banking on riding the coattails of the Tesla stock run. Most needed the funding to survive. While certainly not an easy road, I don't see a close comparison between companies like Canoo, Lordstown, etc to Rivian. As frustrating as it has been to some early reservation holders, Rivian is taking a methodical approach and playing the long game.

 

[HJP1]

None of those other startups got $8B of private investment money during their startup/development phase.
Some were taking advantage of the SPAC craze, others banking on riding the coattails of the Tesla stock run. Most needed the funding to survive. While certainly not an easy road, I don't see a close comparison between companies like Canoo, Lordstown, etc to Rivian. As frustrating as it has been to some early reservation holders, Rivian is taking a methodical approach and playing the long game.

Rivian is planning an IPO sometime in 4Q 2021 or 1Q 2022 according to some sources. Obviously Ford and Amazon as well as other early investors would like to hit their elephant. That said I agree Rivian seems to be to be more methodical and diligent than the others....

 

[Pherdnut]

Rivian is planning an IPO sometime in 4Q 2021 or 1Q 2022 according to some sources. Obviously Ford and Amazon as well as other early investors would like to hit their elephant. That said I agree Rivian seems to be to be more methodical and diligent than the others....

I don't usually fanboy CEOs but in this case, I think Scaringe is the key factor. Dude is the whole package. Domain expertise. Long chess game that plans 40 steps ahead for every contingency. No blind spots that I've seen so far. And the charisma to further boost the strong arguments he brings to any negotiating table. I've seen some articles where sources from Rivian's investors have claimed they've never seen a startup so prepared to answer questions about the business and their overall strategy. I think his biggest superpower is his talent for getting people onboard. Investors, engineering tech talent, employees of all other walks, AND early adopters. I've gathered hours are long for most Rivian employees and they seem to still love working there.

 

[DuckTruck]

I don't usually fanboy CEOs but in this case, I think Scaringe is the key factor. Dude is the whole package. Domain expertise. Long chess game that plans 40 steps ahead for every contingency. No blind spots that I've seen so far. And the charisma to further boost the strong arguments he brings to any negotiating table. I've seen some articles where sources from Rivian's investors have claimed they've never seen a startup so prepared to answer questions about the business and their overall strategy. I think his biggest superpower is his talent for getting people onboard. Investors, engineering tech talent, employees of all other walks, AND early adopters. I've gathered hours are long for most Rivian employees and they seem to still love working there.

Pherdnut, You articulated my feelings better than I could ever hope to. I am so impressed with all I've seen, heard, and read about RJ. Thanks for laying this down so perfectly!

 

[hola29]

Honestly, I would not recommend the launch addition to most of my friends or family. Buying a 1.0 in a fairly new market (EV's) probably does not fit what most of them want. I like cool things, wanted on EV but needed a SUV/Truck, so when I saw the Rivian it was an immediate go. But I expect a few issues, growing pains, etc, but for me part of the fun. At one point I had three cars all sort of running - 1963 Bug, 1971 Scout 800B, and a 1967 Camaro - depending which was running was my daily driver. I still look back fondly on those days haha.

I think also working in tech kinda molded me. Companies with 100's of billions to trillions of dollars in market cap releasing buggy/broken software 25% of the time w/ n amount of resources. You kind of get used to it and stressful in the moment sort of helps you grow as a professional.

So, I think if rock solid, no headache, price conscious, I would suggest to friends to wait and see. Just my .02

Anyone else concerned about buying an expensive EV vehicle from startup (remember Fisker)? I have my deposit on a launch edition RTS but keep thinking about having the hope and faith in a brand new company albeit the large investment from Amazon and Ford.

 

[DaveA]

Life's short. I'll take the risk and buy it....the skateboard has been tested for 6-7 years....first 3-4 as test mules with F-150 bodies....my thinking is after all the years of testing, etc...you're looking at a few software bugs early on if anything and those can be fixed OTA.

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