Rivian Connect+ pricing = $14.99 monthly / $149.99 annually

[Supratachophobia]

I sure hope they do some work on the apps before charging money for them. No way I'm paying to use the TuneIn app as it currently works. It's terrible. Sounds like Tidal is just as bad.
I'm also really hoping for some form of USB music connectivity. The only non-streaming option now is bluetooth, which makes the sub-par stereo sound even worse.

USB music and Plex = shut up and take my money

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[COdogman]

I'm sorry but I disagree. Rivian has put themselves in this situation because they insist on a near pathological desire to control the stack and avoid outside developers. So people are waking up now saying "what? If I don't pay I'm gonna lose Spotify? I'm not gonna have this or that?" Other manufacturers largely give the customer some degree of choice. If they want the manufacturers suite of products and the bandwidth that they require, they pay. If not, they can use phone mirroring (CarPlay or AA) and not have to pay for another subscription. Rivian hasn't given us that option. Right now it's pay or else. Yes, they have said that phone tethering will be available but I'm very sceptical as to whether or not that will materialize.

I’m not saying I don’t understand the complaints. All I’m claiming is Rivian said all along they planned to do it this way. They never promised or even hinted they were planning to add CarPlay. Until recently we had no idea what apps would be next to be added.

So it’s not so much that I’m saying you shouldn’t be annoyed by it - I’m saying their plan and communications about it haven’t changed from day 1. This is exactly what I expected when I made my reservation.

 

[hekhl00]

I’m not saying I don’t understand the complaints. All I’m claiming is Rivian said all along they planned to do it this way. They never promised or even hinted they were planning to add CarPlay. Until recently we had no idea what apps would be next to be added.

So it’s not so much that I’m saying you shouldn’t be annoyed by it - I’m saying their plan and communications about it haven’t changed from day 1. This is exactly what I expected when I made my reservation.

I’m not complaining. I’m merely pointing out that Rivian doesn’t support choice. Yes, it’s fair to say many of us knew this from day one. But it’s equally fair to assume that many buyers didn’t realize what they were in for when they bought in.

 

[COdogman]

I’m not complaining. I’m merely pointing out that Rivian doesn’t support choice. Yes, it’s fair to say many of us knew this from day one. But it’s equally fair to assume that many buyers didn’t realize what they were in for when they bought in.

It’s absolutely fair to say that. It’s also fair to say that is their own fault if they weren’t paying attention. ??‍

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I’m not complaining. I’m merely pointing out that Rivian doesn’t support choice. Yes, it’s fair to say many of us knew this from day one. But it’s equally fair to assume that many buyers didn’t realize what they were in for when they bought in.

Caveat Emptor. Buyers are spending lots of money. It's 1000% on them to know what they are getting themselves into. BS to try to play victim card. On this subject, there were no deception on Rivian's part (unlike Apple Watch As Key, which is now Gen 2 only). Only certain people, being hard of "hearing", deceiving themselves.

And they do support choice. You have choice of phone tethering or paying for Connect+. Connect+ is an additional source of revenue. Are you one of those people who want Rivian to be both a charity and a financially successful enterprise? Correct answer is "no".

Yup. The horse is still dead.

 

[kayabusa]

I had 1000 problems with Rivian, but they always make this clear to me, one day I will have to pay for the connected service. I'm Happy to do that, where do I sign up, it is available today ?

 

[waitingonanr1s]

Surprised at the whining. Guess some people who bought their cars believed Rivian was a charity.

They effectively were a charity until this year. We all paid 10s of thousands less than what our cars cost to make for gen1. Hopefully no longer the case with gen2.

 

[R1TS]

They effectively were a charity until this year. We all paid 10s of thousands less than what our cars cost to make for gen1. Hopefully no longer the case with gen2.

Charity? If it wasn't for the early gen1 buyers, even paying a lot less than their cost, Rivian wouldn't have survived to now. To be fair, no consumer in their right mind would pay for a vehicle at a (significantly) higher price just because the manufacturer couldn't get their costs down when the competition is priced a lot lower. $300K R1T anyone?

 

[Mountain Life]

It is not the customer's responsibility to ensure a product they are purchasing from a company is profitable.

 

[MIG]

Charity? If it wasn't for the early gen1 buyers, even paying a lot less than their cost, Rivian wouldn't have survived to now. To be fair, no consumer in their right mind would pay for a vehicle at a (significantly) higher price just because the manufacturer couldn't get their costs down when the competition is priced a lot lower. $300K R1T anyone?

You're always free to buy from the competition. It's a rare startup that has a tight rein on costs. The already-expensive Lucid lost a $hit-ton on every vehicle. Dyson canceled their EV project because they couldn't make a profit selling it for under $200K (ditto Apple). The cost of building/acquiring a manufacturing facility and tooling up for manufacture is insane, so there's nobody on the continent who can yet produce a vehicle that people would want to buy and turn a profit sufficient to satisfy shareholders/investors.

 

[Cycliste]

Yup. It's still dead.

It's not dead. It's resting.

 

[jime_r1t]

Here's my two cents about connect+ pricing. I'm ok with paying the price *IF* those features worked like they should.

* Alexa: works horribly (e.g. why can't you voice search for a name *and* a city?!)
* Navigation: I don't really care about the satellite imagery, but I *do* care about the fact that the map data is really out of date, like 1 year+ out of date. Speed limit indicator is completely unreliable on the east coast.
* Chromecast: Still waiting to see how well it works
* Gear Guard Live Cam: Probably won't use it
* Hotspot: Don't use it, never will. I already have a phone that can be a hotspot.

I've complained to them several times about the out of date data issues, and have just given up. They aren't listening.

If I'm going to pay, fix the minor issues please!

 

[irvineboy]

I spoke to Rivian. They claim that hotspot for gen 1 owners will stay. Rivian cannot come back and remove hotspot and make us pay for it. The newer gen 2 will be charged for the hotspot. She said it’s on the website. I couldn’t find anything on the website so not sure the validity of that statement. I only found that the Rivian Autonomy Platform + will be free until December 31, 2024 which includes the cool lane and park assist and 360 views. Are they really making gen 2 owners pay for these features that should be standard? Will they remove these driving features for gen 1 owners after December 31, 2024?

 

[Supratachophobia]

I spoke to Rivian. They claim that hotspot for gen 1 owners will stay. Rivian cannot come back and remove hotspot and make us pay for it. The newer gen 2 will be charged for the hotspot. She said it’s on the website. I couldn’t find anything on the website so not sure the validity of that statement. I only found that the Rivian Autonomy Platform + will be free until December 31, 2024 which includes the cool lane and park assist and 360 views. Are they really making gen 2 owners pay for these features that should be standard? Will they remove these driving features for gen 1 owners after December 31, 2024?

Geez people, it's ok for them to walk back on a consumable item like this. Regardless of what Gen you have.

You are asking Rivian to take a bath on millions of dollars of break-even revenue per month so you can, what, save data on your jitterbug?

The best argument you could get out of me is that launch editions get some kind of deal. Other than that, we need to move past this.

 

[Brewbud]

Right now if there is an issue with one of the apps I do not get upset. Once I start paying a fee they better get it right. For example, Tidal finally got album/collection art back after the last update. That lasted for a week and now it's gone again. Also when I ask Alexa to play anything on Tidal she answers "OK, here's Tidal" and then opens Amazon Music instead. It is frustrating (and embarrassing for Rivian if others are in the car), but it's no big deal.....until I start paying. And Bluetooth is not an option due to the sound quality.

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