Rivian R1T MAX PACK delivery update from customer service -- Q1 2023 Possible

[Temerarius]

Boeing and Airbus

Sorry, did you just compare a startup that struggled to push out 1K vehicles out the door, in the middle of a supply shortage, in the midst of a pandemic... to Boeing and Airbus?

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[SEARivian]

Sorry, did you just compare a startup that struggled to push out 1K vehicles out the door, in the middle of a supply shortage, in the midst of a pandemic... to Boeing and Airbus?

If you are expecting Rivian to be as organized as a Boring or Airbus, you should just cancel and walk away now.

I'm merely suggesting a way of managing a production schedule forecast. They are a startup but that doesn't stop them from considering ways to think about solving this problem instead of just throwing their hands up and saying "sorry folks, we're a startup, we'll figure it out when we figure it out, you understand."

Especially when one has put $1,000 already into it for 3 years and is going to spend a premium price on that product. They gave others delivery windows. Surely that was based on something and they're not entirely incompetent to the point where they can't give anyone any sense of timing.

 

[sierraskier]

I should add that until they reveal they are having troubles with developing the max pack, all we know right now is they chose to change timelines arbitrarily which can't be chalked up to manufacturing delays or teething issues. So you cant' blame it on the risk of dealing with new manufacturers there. If they would come out and say there is a production issue then I would get it. I picked a configuration that now can't actually be delivered.

But until then, they chose to change the timeline on their own after the fact which is what feels like a bait and switch.

Exactly.

 

[sierraskier]

Sorry, did you just compare a startup that struggled to push out 1K vehicles out the door, in the middle of a supply shortage, in the midst of a pandemic... to Boeing and Airbus?

The stuff he's talking about is production 101 that any company who is making something should be able to reasonably estimate and forecast.

 

[crashmtb]

The stuff he's talking about is production 101 that any company who is making something should be able to reasonably estimate and forecast.

I mean….It is a button in most ERP packages. Pick a date. Pick wether you want to schedule back or forwards. behold, a schedule! ???

 

[nfrank]

How?

If 99% of Max pack orders move to Large, they would have to figure out where you are dropped into on the build schedule. I'd expect them to get more precise once they have all the data... People have until Jan 31... that's 20 more days for folks to make changes.

Setting expectations with bad data = pissed customers

They should assume 100% of people switch to Large pack. I'm going to switch to Large pack even though I'm not committed to it yet. Might was well. It buys you time. Find out when your Large pack is coming, hold it until they come to actually build your truck. Once they ask for payment then you make the decision to hold off for the Max.

This is what I should have done from day one, but didn't realize how bad their projected build dates were. I regret not getting a Launch Edition. I'd probably be sitting on a March/April delivery window right now. Instead I'm stuck with a "sometime in 2022" for Large/Adventure or "early to mid 2023" for Max/Adventure.

At this point there is no reason NOT to switch to a Large Pack. Even if you're sure you want a Max Pack, this decision today doesn't stick. Holding off onto your Max Pack configuration however, you're pumped to the back of the line.

 

[crashmtb]

They should assume 100% of people switch to Large pack. I'm going to switch to Large pack even though I'm not committed to it yet. Might was well. It buys you time. Find out when your Large pack is coming, hold it until they come to actually build your truck. Once they ask for payment then you make the decision to hold off for the Max.

This is what I should have done from day one, but didn't realize how bad their projected build dates were. I regret not getting a Launch Edition. I'd probably be sitting on a March/April delivery window right now. Instead I'm stuck with a "sometime in 2022" for Large/Adventure or "early to mid 2023" for Max/Adventure.

At this point there is no reason NOT to switch to a Large Pack. Even if you're sure you want a Max Pack, this decision today doesn't stick. Holding off onto your Max Pack configuration however, you're pumped to the back of the line.

Why would I switch to large pack when I know it does not fit my use case?

 

[ja_kub_sz]

They only told me it would be delivered in 2022 if I changed to a Large Pack ... they wouldn't constrain to a tighter date range until after Jan 31 when they had all the Max to Large changes accounted for and then could run the demand planning models in order to figure out potential date ranges for delivery.

Yup basically the same thing I was told.

So wait two weeks, but it's not really a consultation to get a vehicle you're settling for in Q4 2022 when you could get the vehicle you want in 2023 Q1, waiting a full year longer then people who ordered after you.

I'm still of the thinking that Rivian will have people back out of some deliveries (it has to happen), and maybe then I can slide in. Driving a Large Pack while I wait for a Max Pack.

 

[ja_kub_sz]

They should assume 100% of people switch to Large pack. I'm going to switch to Large pack even though I'm not committed to it yet. Might was well. It buys you time. Find out when your Large pack is coming, hold it until they come to actually build your truck. Once they ask for payment then you make the decision to hold off for the Max.

This is what I should have done from day one, but didn't realize how bad their projected build dates were. I regret not getting a Launch Edition. I'd probably be sitting on a March/April delivery window right now. Instead I'm stuck with a "sometime in 2022" for Large/Adventure or "early to mid 2023" for Max/Adventure.

At this point there is no reason NOT to switch to a Large Pack. Even if you're sure you want a Max Pack, this decision today doesn't stick. Holding off onto your Max Pack configuration however, you're pumped to the back of the line.

Good points. You can always say no and wait, but you can't wait and then ask to jump the line.

 

[nfrank]

Why would I switch to large pack when I know it does not fit my use case?

There's a non-zero probability that your use case changes in the next 18 months.

 

[mkg3]

I'm merely suggesting a way of managing a production schedule forecast. They are a startup but that doesn't stop them from considering ways to think about solving this problem instead of just throwing their hands up and saying "sorry folks, we're a startup, we'll figure it out when we figure it out, you understand."

Especially when one has put $1,000 already into it for 3 years and is going to spend a premium price on that product. They gave others delivery windows. Surely that was based on something and they're not entirely incompetent to the point where they can't give anyone any sense of timing.

You guys have to stop shooting and killing the messengers (CS).

They can only speak to what they are told they can say. Has absolutely no control over anything. Their job is to interact with you as a place you can communicate with.

There is no one person, I believe, that you can directly interact with that will "promise" you a slot or give you more of precise date range.

I am not defending Rivian. Just think about it. Any real decision makers cannot be burned down with dealing with preorder rant from anyone. They are trying to scale up production and maintain quality control all the while dealing with inconsistent supplier shipment issues (over 100 cargo ships sitting outside of LA terminal waiting to offload from China and other Pacific Rim suppliers).

Rivian could have not sent any timeframe to all the preorders. Perhaps that might have been a smarter thing to do but PR is a tight rope to walk on...

YOU, as a consumer, have the right to buy whenever and wherever you'd like. If you don't like how you are being treated, then you can move onto something else. If you believe there is no options (which I disagree with, btw), then it is what it is....

 

[crashmtb]

There's a non-zero probability that your use case changes in the next 18 months.

My use case is “I live in the middle of Canada where the distances are large, and winter is very, very cold. And long”.

this is not changing. Unless you have a crystal ball and know something I don’t.

 

[GaryL]

I don't have a horse in this race but I'm going to raise a point here that I haven't seen raised. One of the reasons the MaxPak customers aren't getting more detailed information is internally the Rivian brass hasn't decided whether to prioritize early(2018-2019) maxpak order holders. I suspect those discussions are still ongoing. There hope is they can stick to the emailed schedule with minimal disruption from early orders switching to large pack. Another perceived delay is not going to be good for the stock price. but if they give early order maxpak refugees priority they will have no choice but to bump others. I'm afraid the stock price is playing a role here.

 

[mgc0216]

Hearing more and more people's interactions with CS regarding their orders.

I'm beginning to feel like I was promised more Rivian CS fairy dust and won't be able to get a large pack R1T by end of Q2 2022.

We'll see, they said they'd let me know more in two weeks.

Q2 2022 doesn't seem to fit the schedule. There are launch editions that are going to be delivered through the summer aren't there (I thought there were July-Sept LE windows)? I know my date is May-June 2022 so maybe they are mixing adventures in as the finish up LEs (I have an august 2020 reservation date so I am pretty far down the LE reservation pecking order), but if not I think you're in for disappointment (although i hope not)

 

[SEARivian]

You guys have to stop shooting and killing the messengers (CS).

They can only speak to what they are told they can say. Has absolutely no control over anything. Their job is to interact with you as a place you can communicate with.

There is no one person, I believe, that you can directly interact with that will "promise" you a slot or give you more of precise date range.

I am not defending Rivian. Just think about it. Any real decision makers cannot be burned down with dealing with preorder rant from anyone. They are trying to scale up production and maintain quality control all the while dealing with inconsistent supplier shipment issues (over 100 cargo ships sitting outside of LA terminal waiting to offload from China and other Pacific Rim suppliers).

Rivian could have not sent any timeframe to all the preorders. Perhaps that might have been a smarter thing to do but PR is a tight rope to walk on...

YOU, as a consumer, have the right to buy whenever and wherever you'd like. If you don't like how you are being treated, then you can move onto something else. If you believe there is no options (which I disagree with, btw), then it is what it is....

I completely understand the CS reps aren't the ones making production decisions. But think about it. They're the ones being tasked with calling you to make a potentially big change to your original purchase plans. This isn't just me pulling up the chat function and asking CS to remind me the material the interior is made from. This is them asking you to change your configuration. I would have expected a little more info than just "do you want to?"

Maybe my bar is too high? I don't know. It definitely is not on the CS rep who is only relaying the information they have. It's on the company for better equipping them with information.

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