Latest Time Estimate for Launch Edition - via chat with Rivian 9/21/21

[PastyPilgrim]

From my previous conversation with CS a few months ago, you are 100% right. I sent CS a lengthy email stating my disappointment and I received a phone call the next day from a higher up basically stating this, he worded it in a way to make it clear that this is what will happen without actually saying it. It disappointed me that a day 1 reservation holder could potentially get their launch edition vehicle after someone who orders 3 years later and doesnt even qualify to receive a launch edition vehicle and on top of that they could even have more options to choose from than the person who dropped $1000 3 years earlier.

Your preference would be for them to stop production or stop deliveries while they wait for difficult fulfillments to become more feasible? If they don't have the legal go-ahead for a state, or they don't have the ability to get a car somewhere yet, or they don't have the ability to support a car in some location, or supply issues limit production of a particular config, etc. then it only makes sense that they fulfill the orders they can while still planning to deliver a difficult order as soon as possible.

Basically, fulfilling non-LE orders in the meantime shouldn't delay an LE order, but the opposite should be true too.

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[MIG]

My question is going to be, if my delivery isn't going to be until Spring of next year on my LE, would there even be a time penalty to switch it to a max pack at that point? They've said they are going to start those deliveries in January.

So they're delaying the LEs but everything else is on time? Don't count on it.

 

[nukem384]

Not sure that will prove to be accurate. It's fairly clear that there are additional variables beyond a cut and dry LE then non-LE. I think you have to also break it down by location. They are clearly not interested in delivering vehicles to locations before the local/regional service center is operational. That's how they will handle deliveries and also address issues post-delivery. Based on that, It's entirely possible (likely even?) that a Max pack person in LA, Seattle, etc. gets theirs before a LE in Fargo, ND who ordered on the reveal in 2018.

Totally makes sense. And I'm hoping that's the case cause then I'd be able to get my R1S faster since I'm in the Bay Area

 

[_evtrk]

Your preference would be for them to stop production or stop deliveries while they wait for difficult fulfillments to become more feasible? If they don't have the legal go-ahead for a state, or they don't have the ability to get a car somewhere yet, or they don't have the ability to support a car in some location, or supply issues limit production of a particular config, etc. then it only makes sense that they fulfill the orders they can while still planning to deliver a difficult order as soon as possible.

Basically, fulfilling non-LE orders in the meantime shouldn't delay an LE order, but the opposite should be true too.

Not at all, just shows some lack in planning to me. When you talk about "launch edition", "priority delivery" and things like that you just assume if you were first in line you should be getting before the ones in the middle or the back of the line, of course there will always be issues with some remote locations or some difficult deliveries. I myself am not an early reservation holders, I'm a mid 2019, but I feel for the ones who were early day holders and won't receive their vehicles for a long time. So while I don't say stop production I do say compensate those people, give them some free merch, give them something. And fix the planning issues they have, because they do have some big issues in planning, especially when in comes to service centers, Take the Miami, FL location for example, most positions have been filled for 6-8 months now, the location has been selected and the lease signed well over 5 months, and yet there has yet to be any work done. Earlier this year rivian had announced that all launch editions would be "delivered before end of year", they later changed that to 'by spring 2022". How did they ever plan to do this without most of the service centers open?. Bad planning imo. I'm just hoping they don't have the same issues with planning when it comes to the Rivian Adventure Network.

 

[Dbeglor]

Not at all, just shows some lack in planning to me. When you talk about "launch edition", "priority delivery" and things like that you just assume if you were first in line you should be getting before the ones in the middle or the back of the line, of course there will always be issues with some remote locations or some difficult deliveries. I myself am not an early reservation holders, I'm a mid 2019, but I feel for the ones who were early day holders and won't receive their vehicles for a long time. So while I don't say stop production I do say compensate those people, give them some free merch, give them something. And fix the planning issues they have, because they do have some big issues in planning, especially when in comes to service centers, Take the Miami, FL location for example, most positions have been filled for 6-8 months now, the location has been selected and the lease signed well over 5 months, and yet there has yet to be any work done. Earlier this year rivian had announced that all launch editions would be "delivered before end of year", they later changed that to 'by spring 2022". How did they ever plan to do this without most of the service centers open?. Bad planning imo. I'm just hoping they don't have the same issues with planning when it comes to the Rivian Adventure Network.

It depends on perspective. By reserving early and locking in Launch Edition, I would certainly expect you receive delivery before some who did so later and non-LE in your same area and with similar configuration. So, timing does matter and does provide priority, just not in the way some may have assumed. I think a lot of people envisioned there being a single line that everyone was getting in, when in reality there are several lines based on location, model, configuration.

Put another way, all else equal, reserving in November 2018 certainly gets you a vehicle earlier than if you reserved the same vehicle in October 2020. That's all that is relevant.

 

[svet-am]

Thanks @metalic5 - you summarized what I've been saying in other threads for a while about this issue. If there's not really a "benefit" to being an early adopter (through swag compensation or something else) then what was the point at all? Especially if my "Launch Edition" vehicle is deferred for quite a while.

 

[IlliniRivian]

Thanks for the info. I am disappointed that they have pretty much ignored 50% of their customers with R1S reservations in the last few communications. It is great the R1T is coming but let's acknowledge the rest of the customer base and provide a timing update on the timeline for the first R1S LEs too.

 

[Dbeglor]

Thanks @metalic5 - you summarized what I've been saying in other threads for a while about this issue. If there's not really a "benefit" to being an early adopter (through swag compensation or something else) then what was the point at all? Especially if my "Launch Edition" vehicle is deferred for quite a while.

See my last comment. There was definitely a benefit to being an early reservation. You will get the vehicle sooner than you would have otherwise because of it. Expecting any other special treatment is within anyone's rights, but doesn't mean it's justified. And let's be honest, putting up a refundable deposit isn't really adopting much. At worst it's cost about $2/year in interest.

 

[fastwheels]

Not at all, just shows some lack in planning to me. When you talk about "launch edition", "priority delivery" and things like that you just assume if you were first in line you should be getting before the ones in the middle or the back of the line, of course there will always be issues with some remote locations or some difficult deliveries...

I completely agree with you. I am having a harder and harder time accepting the argument that one's home location should push you far down the delivery list from where you would be based on order date/config. Rivian has hosted LE pre-order holders at Normal - so we know that can be done. I see no good reason they cannot deliver an LE vehicle from Normal also. If someone is too far away from an existing service center, as I am, let us take on the responsibility of getting to the delivery center instead of waiting for home delivery. I don't care that I have to drive it 440 miles to get home - it will be my first adventure. The customer that takes delivery 5 miles from a service center in CA or WA may just leave the next day to drive to anywhere in the country - possibly a thousand miles or more from a service center - so it's not like we need to keep the R1s close to a service center at all times. They are ADVENTURE vehicles - people are going to go on adventures with them. Lack of proximity to a service center is a risk we will have to some extent. I'm willing (as I expect many other are also) to take that risk starting on day one.

 

[paariv]

See my last comment. There was definitely a benefit to being an early reservation. You will get the vehicle sooner than you would have otherwise because of it. Expecting any other special treatment is within anyone's rights, but doesn't mean it's justified. And let's be honest, putting up a refundable deposit isn't really adopting much. At worst it's cost about $2/year in interest.

You seem to view a preorder as nothing more than the bare minimum commitment defined by the terms and conditions of the deposit agreement, with no obligations whatsoever on Rivian (besides returning the deposit if customers ask). And then you myopically define it down to "if you're bothered that you got the vehicle after your next door neighbor who ordered a car today, but a different paint color, you're a crybaby."

Yes, your position is legally correct as a formal matter. Nobody's formally entitled to anything, and everyone who's annoyed/whining about this, myself included, is absurdly privileged to even be in this position. But Rivian's current policies (at least as we perceive them, because they won't even come out and say what they're planning) are rightly viewed as something of a snub.

Rivian should (not a legal requirement - just a "should") be doing more for longtime preorder holders who remain excited about the brand. If you plunked down the money years ago, have been on the ball about ordering, configuring, and communicating with Rivian (not easy when they spring announcements on us by email at random), it's not too much to ask that they:

1. Communicate what their current manufacturing and delivery plans are, especially with respect to the $#%!@@! R1S - heavily qualified is OK;
2. Give you priority access to events;
3. Failing that, be transparent and up front about why and how they're deciding who gets access to what;
4. Tell you in advance when they're going to be opening up appointments in your area instead of sending an unannounced email that you might not see until slots are largely gone;
5. Give some meaningful recognition of your place in line when it comes to taking delivery. This could be letting you take factory delivery where infrastructure's not in place where you live (after making sure there are no catastrophic initial issues, and ensuring you know the risk of breakdown).
6. Failing that, send a fscking Rivian water bottle in recognition of the fact that they just. don't. communicate. at. all.

What you're seeing here is frustration at an opaque and arbitrary process that has seen many delays. It's a minor, and a first-world, problem, of course. But that doesn't mean the complaints are totally baseless or unreasonable.

 

[svet-am]

See my last comment. There was definitely a benefit to being an early reservation. You will get the vehicle sooner than you would have otherwise because of it. Expecting any other special treatment is within anyone's rights, but doesn't mean it's justified. And let's be honest, putting up a refundable deposit isn't really adopting much. At worst it's cost about $2/year in interest.

This is not true. As we have seen from other CS conversations, if there's not a service center in your area/city, then even LE pre-order holders will be delayed. Where was the benefit, then?

 

[Hopper]

Ugh. I was planning on the tax credit this year. I wonder. If the R1T LE is delayed until Q1 2022, will the LE holders have a shot at the larger battery pack? Or will that too be delayed….

 

[cc84]

I think a lot of people envisioned there being a single line that everyone was getting in, when in reality there are several lines based on location, model, configuration.

You are correct, as I was one of them.....2 yrs. 7 months ago. If I had placed my reservation within the past three months, I would have known exactly what you know now.

In 2020, there was a thread started for everyone to enter their reservation date. I thought the thread was started to see where you stood in line. Maybe that's not the reason, but it's what I thought at the time. It is an interesting thread, but the numbers don't relate to when you'll see delivery. Reality set in for me June 2021.

Nearly 3 years ago, there were no discussions about where Service Centers would be placed, or their relevance to deliveries, that I recall. We knew we would have mobile service, so I wasn't concerned. All we had at that time was a reservation number. There wasn't any communication from Rivian, to discourage us from believing reservation numbers were the most important factor. I continued believing they were, until June 2021, when the Guides started contacting people.

Once that started taking place, there have been numerous discussions taking place. I believe everyone that's been a member since June 2021, has been made totally and completely aware that the reservation date really means less than what some of us originally thought. However, since recently re-reading my Preorder Agreement, I know Rivian has not deceived anyone, but I hold them responsible for lack of communication, when they could have simply explained their strategy. They're allowing us to speculate......and, that was their strategy. It worked.

I have no doubt Rivian knew these discussions were taking place and chose not to reveal where deliveries would begin first, etc., so as not to discourage reservations in other areas.....and no one still knows where deliveries will be going. We will in 8 days, or less......hopefully.

 

[Autolycus]

This is not true. As we have seen from other CS conversations, if there's not a service center in your area/city, then even LE pre-order holders will be delayed. Where was the benefit, then?

Probably making a critical mistake by wading into this discussion with no vested interest at all, but...

You will get it before others in your area.

 

[jplblue]

This is not true. As we have seen from other CS conversations, if there's not a service center in your area/city, then even LE pre-order holders will be delayed. Where was the benefit, then?

I think the point is that, in aggregate, LE pre-order holders have an advantage with regard to delivery timeline. Since

Probably making a critical mistake by wading into this discussion with no vested interest at all, but...

You will get it before others in your area.

Not to mention the sweet wheel upgrade + Launch Green. Those are tangible benefits off the bat.

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