Bloomberg article: Rivian’s Electric Truck Gets All the Attention, But Its Fate Is Tied to Amazon

[R1TMDSD]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-06/how-amazon-pushed-rivian-s-van-into-the-fast-lane

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[GaryL]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-06/how-amazon-pushed-rivian-s-van-into-the-fast-lane

In the current article the author references a Bloomberg article from November of 2020
"Scaringe told Bloomberg in November that it would take two years to catch up on its order book"
I looked for the original article but it is behind a paywall. If there were 40K of pre orders in 11/20 and its going to take 2 years to catch up then some "stuff" is not adding up. The tone of the article does not give me (R1T LE reservation holder) a warm and fuzzy feeling.

 

[Dark-Fx]

In the current article the author references a Bloomberg article from November of 2020
"Scaringe told Bloomberg in November that it would take two years to catch up on its order book"
I looked for the original article but it is behind a paywall. If there were 40K of pre orders in 11/20 and its going to take 2 years to catch up then some "stuff" is not adding up. The tone of the article does not give me (R1T LE reservation holder) a warm and fuzzy feeling.

I think they were still working off their original first shipment date back then. Probably anticipated a much slower initial rollout. At least I can hope.

 

[kvenom]

Man, that article is depressing as a reservation holder if true.

 

[STLBlues76]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-06/how-amazon-pushed-rivian-s-van-into-the-fast-lane

Disappointing that the article couldn't even get basic details like "Guides" not "Ambassadors" right.

 

[Autolycus]

Disappointing that the article couldn't even get basic details like "Guides" not "Ambassadors" right.

Yeah, or ...

Sometime in the next few weeks, Rivian’s first customer will get a truck, the ambassadors will start booking delivery dates and Instagram will fill up with the 5,000-pound version of an iPhone unboxing video.

It's not clear if this quote below about a timeline is 2 years from November 2020, or 2 years from first delivery. But in any event, I really wouldn't stress too much over a timeline that was stated in November 2020. The timeline has definitely changed since then. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse, but it has changed.

Still, the wait for most customers will be long. Scaringe told Bloomberg in November that it would take two years to catch up on its order book.

 

[TXR1S]

Scaringe has prioritized building hundreds of delivery vans this year, while production of the highly anticipated new electric pickup runs at a trickle, according to people familiar with the plan.

Oof. Sure matches up with what we seem to be seeing….

I want to know -are multiple R1Ts delivering to customers every day?

If not, the truck is not launched IMHO.

 

[fromSf]

I'm not a Rivian fanboy, seems Bloomberg hates Rivian. Their review was bit sarcastic and now this article. Note: Its behind paywall and haven't read the article.

 

[Kmann1994]

This was a good read. On one hand it’s a little scary to see the amount of leverage Amazon has on Rivian, but at the same time I completely understand why RJ took this deal at their early startup stage and his long-term strategy in mind when he did it. I’ve worked at a high growth startup for over 6 years and am close to our founder and he would have and did do similar things when we were much smaller.

Essentially, it boils down to there being a short-term reduction in R1T and R1S ramp progress to focus on finishing the van so that in the long term, Rivian can be financially healthy and well set up to drastically scale production on both their consumer and commercial sides of the business. I think it’s smart, and as a March 2021 preorder holder I wasn’t planning on getting my vehicle until late 2022 anyways so the wait doesn’t bother me.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Rivian is contractually obligated to produce the vans. R1T and the Amazon vans are different lines. Unless they are dealing with common parts shortages from the suppliers, I don't see a reason that R1T production would suffer because of their Amazon obligation.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I'm not a Rivian fanboy, seems Bloomberg hates Rivian. Their review was bit sarcastic and now this article. Note: Its behind paywall and haven't read the article.

Bloomberg's investors likely have a huge stake in Tesla. I take overly negative articles from them with a grain of salt.

 

[RWerksman]

Non-paywalled version of the article: https://archive.is/g0C10

 

[Zoidz]

"People familiar with the plan" = my neighbor's sister knows a guy who's dad is a floor sweeper at Rivian?? lol....

 

[JeremyMKE]

I am a big fan of paying for the content you enjoy. That being said if you switch to Reader mode on chrome you can see the whole article...

 

[Autolycus]

Rivian is contractually obligated to produce the vans. R1T and the Amazon vans are different lines. Unless they are dealing with common parts shortages from the suppliers, I don't see a reason that R1T production would suffer because of their Amazon obligation.

Labor, batteries, and microcontrollers are likely the 3 common resources. All of those could be in short supply right now.

A few quotes I thought were interesting and a little more relevant to us as R1 preorder holders than the more broad discussion about the deal with Amazon--which is also worth a read:

Rivian’s most immediate goal is to deliver 300 vans to Amazon by year-end, according to people familiar with the deal. The first 10,000 units are due by the end of 2022. The full order of 100,000 vans is due by the end of the decade.

Over the summer, Scaringe fast-tracked testing on the R1T pickup to clear the decks for accelerated van production in the fall. In September, the company’s efforts refocused on building what is known internally as the Rivian Prime Van. The pickup is being produced in steady but modest numbers, according to people familiar with the plan.

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