Anyone hear from their Rivian Guide?

[SeaGeo]

I think you're really overstating the benefits of having seen Tesla's experience, and not acknowledging the pivot that Rivian made in changing their approach. Additionally, they're taking on two markets with the vehicles, a more aggressive station rollout than Tesla, and a more aggressive insurance rollout. Among other things. Tesla has really taken a fairly conservative approach to growth up until the M3. But even then, they're really only produced 3 unique vehicles themselves. The Roadster was an advanced conversion vehicle, and the Model 3 and Y are basically the same cars. And they've staggered all of them. They still can't manage to get a refreshed Model S out the door in time.

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[eggpaul]

You're entitled to your opinion which has obviously been soured by disappointment. But perhaps if Tesla had put a little more into the Roadster it wouldn't have been such a disaster (and I'm not suggesting they actually had the resources at the time to do anything different). Frankly, I would not be committed to Rivian if they weren't taking their time to do things right. Also keep in mind that Rivian is basically releasing 3 vehicles at once with a level of quality and refinement far beyond what Tesla was ever able to provide with the Roadster (and Tesla's consistency and quality continue to be problems today).

How do you know about their level of quality and refinement?

 

[n8dgr8]

Glass half full: If there are launch delays, those of us later in the queue might be ok as they catch up.

Glass half empty: If the can’t even accurately forecast timelines 2 months out, how on earth will we get these things serviced.

 

[SeaGeo]

They've communicated with us. They communicated so much that we thought they were on a weekly cadence.

 

[cc84]

Of course it is also entirely possible that the reason that a further delay has not yet been communicated to pre-order customers is that there is no such delay to communicate.

Agreed and I hope this is the reason for little communication. However, unless something happens rather quickly today, we probably won't hear anything over the weekend. We should though. They should be doing whatever is necessary to keep us informed. If we don't hear anything today, then we'll go into the 24th day of suspense, Monday, of having been told our Guide will reach out in May.

Perhaps most early pre-order holders thrive on the suspense and can't wait to be surprised, but I think it should have been handled differently. I had rather be told our Guide will reach out to us prior to June. It's all in the wording.

 

[RWerksman]

I agree with the sentiment, but $1000 should never be throw away. There are people and causes that could benefit by having that money thrown toward them. It has value, regardless of how meaningful (or not) it is to you or I.

They've communicated with us. They communicated so much that we thought they were on a weekly cadence.

Even if regular pre-launch communication doesn't matter to you, it should. You're expecting to buy a quality product from a successful company. When that company doesn't deliver on something (regardless if it matter to you or not) it sows doubt and burns goodwill. Crisp, clear, timely communications is one of those things. Rivian comms is a meme at best right now with a large part of their early adopter community. Sure, it can be overcome with a light-out product, but if it stumbles, you'll need that goodwill.

Think about it - if the vehicles come out later than expected (again), or if there are software issues, or if there is a design defect, it's a ton easier to have a precedent of consistent engagement that you can build off of to manage a crisis / reassure your customers. Right now, a week before I may get called to give them more money, they can't even confirm what the actual color of the truck I have on order is.

If you compare that to Ford - I put a much smaller deposit in for the F150 Lightning and was already contacted twice about it, forwarded over a preliminary build sheet (which was actually posted here, and is more comprehensive than what Rivian has posted), and they have already announced they are posting more details about it on the 24th.

 

[SeaGeo]

I agree with the sentiment, but $1000 should never be throw away. There are people and causes that could benefit by having that money thrown toward them. It has value, regardless of how meaningful (or not) it is to you or I.


Even if regular pre-launch communication doesn't matter to you, it should. You're expecting to buy a quality product from a successful company. When that company doesn't deliver on something (regardless if it matter to you or not) it sows doubt and burns goodwill. Crisp, clear, timely communications is one of those things. Rivian comms is a meme at best right now with a large part of their early adopter community. Sure, it can be overcome with a light-out product, but if it stumbles, you'll need that goodwill.

Think about it - if the vehicles come out later than expected (again), or if there are software issues, or if there is a design defect, it's a ton easier to have a precedent of consistent engagement that you can build off of to manage a crisis / reassure your customers. Right now, a week before I may get called to give them more money, they can't even confirm what the actual color of the truck I have on order is.

If you compare that to Ford - I put a much smaller deposit in for the F150 Lightning and was already contacted twice about it, forwarded over a preliminary build sheet (which was actually posted here, and is more comprehensive than what Rivian has posted), and they have already announced they are posting more details about it on the 24th.

This goes back to my previous point. It's not that it doesn't matter. It does. I've complained about their communication, but I'm also not suggesting the world is burning. I also made a joking about being contacted by my "Ford Guide". So I get the frustration. But I'm also not going to pretend that they haven't communicated with us at all.

 

[TessP100D]

I agree with the sentiment, but $1000 should never be throw away. There are people and causes that could benefit by having that money thrown toward them. It has value, regardless of how meaningful (or not) it is to you or I.


Even if regular pre-launch communication doesn't matter to you, it should. You're expecting to buy a quality product from a successful company. When that company doesn't deliver on something (regardless if it matter to you or not) it sows doubt and burns goodwill. Crisp, clear, timely communications is one of those things. Rivian comms is a meme at best right now with a large part of their early adopter community. Sure, it can be overcome with a light-out product, but if it stumbles, you'll need that goodwill.

Think about it - if the vehicles come out later than expected (again), or if there are software issues, or if there is a design defect, it's a ton easier to have a precedent of consistent engagement that you can build off of to manage a crisis / reassure your customers. Right now, a week before I may get called to give them more money, they can't even confirm what the actual color of the truck I have on order is.

If you compare that to Ford - I put a much smaller deposit in for the F150 Lightning and was already contacted twice about it, forwarded over a preliminary build sheet (which was actually posted here, and is more comprehensive than what Rivian has posted), and they have already announced they are posting more details about it on the 24th.

I agree with your statements, but what makes you think Rivian is a successful company? They are a start up that hasn’t even released any vehicles yet to the public. We are are hopeful, but by thats not the same.

 

[eggpaul]

I agree with the sentiment, but $1000 should never be throw away. There are people and causes that could benefit by having that money thrown toward them. It has value, regardless of how meaningful (or not) it is to you or I.


Even if regular pre-launch communication doesn't matter to you, it should. You're expecting to buy a quality product from a successful company. When that company doesn't deliver on something (regardless if it matter to you or not) it sows doubt and burns goodwill. Crisp, clear, timely communications is one of those things. Rivian comms is a meme at best right now with a large part of their early adopter community. Sure, it can be overcome with a light-out product, but if it stumbles, you'll need that goodwill.

Think about it - if the vehicles come out later than expected (again), or if there are software issues, or if there is a design defect, it's a ton easier to have a precedent of consistent engagement that you can build off of to manage a crisis / reassure your customers. Right now, a week before I may get called to give them more money, they can't even confirm what the actual color of the truck I have on order is.

If you compare that to Ford - I put a much smaller deposit in for the F150 Lightning and was already contacted twice about it, forwarded over a preliminary build sheet (which was actually posted here, and is more comprehensive than what Rivian has posted), and they have already announced they are posting more details about it on the 24th.

I agree 100%.

 

[RWerksman]

I agree with your statements, but what makes you think Rivian is a successful company? They are a start up that hasn’t even released any vehicles yet to the public. We are are hopeful, but by thats not the same.

I don't really. They have proven that they can raise a boatload of moolah to finance their company, and they've designed what appears to be a very compelling truck and suv. That's about it.

I'm hoping they are successful for a variety of reasons, not least of which is I want the company around to service my truck log after I buy it. I'm cautiously optimistic, mainly because of the epic amount of cash invested.

 

[ERguy]

Just curious... What about the pandemic prevented Rivian from letting us see the vehicles up close in person? Lucid has had vehicles on display for months. Did the pandemic somehow impact Rivian in ways it didn't affect other companies?

 

[DucRider]

Just curious... What about the pandemic prevented Rivian from letting us see the vehicles up close in person? Lucid has had vehicles on display for months. Did the pandemic somehow impact Rivian in ways it didn't affect other companies?

I didn't hear anything about Lucid traveling around the country giving test drives to reservation holders. Did I miss something?

 

[ERguy]

I didn't hear anything about Lucid traveling around the country giving test drives to reservation holders. Did I miss something?

Well, sort of...

I didn't say test drive a Lucid.

Yes... Lucid has vehicles on display in studios around the country.

You can look at the cars and see what they look like in person.

Are you ready to be really shocked? You can even see the interior... Unlike Rivian which seems to go to great lengths to keep the interior from being photographed.

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