MKBHD Interview: Rivian CEO Scaringe Talks R1S and Future of Rivian (R2, Wireless Charging Pad, Camp Kitchen Update, Etc.)

[COdogman]

My guess is R2 will not have air suspension or hydraulic dampening.

...and I'd say when questioned about CarPlay, RJ's comments on the importance of having control of the Rivian UI Ethos/Eco-system just about puts the nail in the coffin of any one's CP/AA hopes.

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[Guy]

Rivian’s having a sane CEO and founder who’s focused on all the right stuff is already refreshing

I agree and I thought it was an excellent interview with some interesting nuggets. Along with the range estimates for max pack and the spare tire kit having a date (this summer which I take to be June to August) means this has been a great week for information.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

So nice to have an extended thoughtful interview with RJ, especially in the face of perhaps slightly more negativity on the forum than usual recently.

Slightly?

A thread yesterday had to be locked by mods because people couldn't avoid personal attacks.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

But can existing owners get the new charging pad? I sure hope so. I'm also surprised so many people don't like or use the speaker. Any time I'm working in the yard at home, I'll pop it out and use it. We occasionally do fires in the fire pit, so we have it out for that. And for our annual 4th of July party, it's perfect. So I don't even camp, but I use the speaker quite a bit

I hope so as well as it simply doesn't work all that well. It's not a big deal if they don't because I'm sure there will (or already are) high quality easy to drop in replacements. Plus magsafe was intended to prevent on that sliding around.

As to the Camp Speaker I think its one of those pet idea kinds of things. Where someone has a desire for something, but hasn't done any market study to see if utilization rates would justify the cost.

I would love to hear about the backstory of how the camp speaker came into existence. It's one of those things that's quirky, and gives the vehicle some soul. But, I don't see myself using it very often aside from a few occasions either as music or a light source.

I do love the flashlight, and I wish they had two of them (or 4).

With some a simple tweek in how it works I would love the built in air compressor. I'd like it to show the current air pressure as it inflated.

 

[Friscorays]

Slightly?

A thread yesterday had to be locked by mods because people couldn't avoid personal attacks.

The "perhaps" part was me trying to be diplomatic.

I don't know specifically which thread you are referencing but I think I have a pretty good guess. I hit ignore on one in the last day or two as soon as I read the initial post; which was worded in such a way that it was essentially begging for a fight. A five minute rewrite of the original post could easily have expressed the same concerns in a much less inflammatory fashion and encouraged some thoughtful discussion rather than a verbal brawl.

Tact seems to be a dying art.

 

[Friscorays]

I hope so as well as it simply doesn't work all that well.....

The OEM charging mat is pretty easy to remove so I am hopeful it will be a pretty easy swap out, hopefully at no or relatively minimal cost to early adopters. As the consensus seems to be that it really does not reliably work as intended, it could arguably be considered a warranty item.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

The "perhaps" part was me trying to be diplomatic.

I don't know specifically which thread you are referencing but I think I have a pretty good guess. I hit ignore on one in the last day or two as soon as I read the initial post; which was worded in such a way that it was essentially begging for a fight. A five minute rewrite of the original post could easily have expressed the same concerns in a much less inflammatory fashion and encouraged some thoughtful discussion rather than a verbal brawl.

Tact seems to be a dying art.

If I ever create my own forum it would have a ChatGPT like interface which made suggested edits, and some basic fact checking.

A sorta "are you sure you want to post that" kind of thing. It would also present a summary of what's being said so someone can fix any readability issues. This is something that I myself have problems with where what I wrote doesn't come across like I expect.

A post that talks about problems simply needs to state what the behavior is, what the expectation is, and what steps if any Rivian has done to solve it.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

The OEM charging mat is pretty easy to remove so I am hopeful it will be a pretty easy swap out, hopefully at no or relatively minimal cost to early adopters. As the consensus seems to be that it really does not reliably work as intended, it could arguably be considered a warranty item.

I think it was just bad timing.

Where magsafe came after the development of the original charging mat. It's also the fact that those charging mats were already problematic.

Like at home I have a nice one from well known company, but my cheap one that I got from Porsche (for a Taycan reservation) worked so much better.

 

[Dark-Fx]

With some a simple tweek in how it works I would love the built in air compressor. I'd like it to show the current air pressure as it inflated

It does show this but it's the pressure at the output in the bed. There's no way to measure what you are inflating appropriately since you always have to have more pressure in the lines going to whatever you are inflating vs what's already in it. Having played around with designing my own automatic inflation system, even having sensors at the end of the hose can be off by upwards of 10 psi.

 

[Friscorays]

RJ provides a great interview. Very thoughtful, informative answers.

MKBHD, not so much. I wish someone with true interview experience could sit down with RJ for an extended conversation like this.....

I thought Marques did an excellent job in the time available and the video made me understand why he has over 16 million subscribers on YouTube (compared to 11k for the Rivian Stories guys who I also enjoy).

I am not sure who you might have in mind for an additional interview with RJ, but I've seen many folks who should have a solid grasp on Rivian basics say / ask things that make it painfully clear that they could not be bothered to do even some basic research before meeting with the man. One of Sandy Munro's early meetings with RJ springs immediately to mind.

 

[HeresRonnie]

At least RJ cleared up the camp kitchen thing.. A smaller and cheaper version of the camp kitchen on the way will definitely be welcome. Heck they might even sell more camp kitchens now.

 

[VSG]

Heck they might even sell more camp kitchens now.

More than the 0 they've sold so far? Still waiting on mine ...

 

[HeresRonnie]

More than the 0 they've sold so far? Still waiting on mine ...

Well obviously they haven't sold any and as far as I know they haven't mass produced any of the originals. But my comment was referencing how a cheaper price point could get more customers to order versus those who felt the original setup was too expensive.

 

[zipzag]

At least RJ cleared up the camp kitchen thing.. A smaller and cheaper version of the camp kitchen on the way will definitely be welcome. Heck they might even sell more camp kitchens now.

I would have liked hime to say "what we designed wasn't good enough". I suspect that rattling was unacceptable and unfixable. Sheet metal fabrication is basic to the auto industry, and getting the camp kitchen made as shown would not be a long term problem.

 

[ER1T]

Yes, fully aware of that. I'm just saying I've never seen Limestone show any blue tones. It's always looked pale grey or green IME.

My Limestone has never looked greenish to me. Multiple shades of blue/gray, depending on sky and background conditions. Crazy how many complements I get about the color!

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