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Depreciation Thoughts

n8dgr8

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Hello all! Relatively new here and the Rivian reservation family but equally excited about our over the top family hauler (R1S). We have had 3 EVs now starting with the i3 which my wife adored and now have the Model 3 and e-tron. With experience in 3 brands EVs, I believe that a huge factor In future values is OTA updates. As I know many of the the Tesla owners on here can testify to, waking up to a new update always feels exciting. I tend to be In the ”latest and greatest“ category rather than “drive it until it dies” but with OTA updates and potential minor hardware upgrade options ie. MCU, we can now have both. IMO, this will have a significant impact on used EV values.

Even with exponential battery improvements, I believe that we could see a shift to longer ownership periods and higher resale values. Even the legacy brands are reluctantly adding OTA updates thanks to Tesla and now Rivian changing the game.

Anyway, more food for thought in trying to compare new EVs to traditional ICE depreciation.
OTA was a mixed bag for us. Some were thrilling new features while others introduced bugs that you couldn’t undo. Other times it nags you to do the update but you can’t tell the difference.
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SANZC02

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OTA was a mixed bag for us. Some were thrilling new features while others introduced bugs that you couldn’t undo. Other times it nags you to do the update but you can’t tell the difference.
I agree OTA is a mixed bag. Kind of like when the OS on your PC/Phone changes when they occasionally alter the UI on major upgrades.

I am always extra cautious on autopilot after an upgrade, have seen a couple where it behaved a little different so just pay even more attention first few uses after upgrade.

There are a lot of things that come in with them and since there are a lot of soft buttons on the touch screen they really do have a lot of latitude to alter things.

Some key additions I've seen over the life of the car so far;
1) Added the ability to put a PIN on the glove box for it to open​
2) Added ability to add PIN to be able to run the car​
3) Added ability to alert, read aloud, and reply to text messages​
4) added additional alerts for door left open, windows open​
5) added vent windows feature​
6) added pet mode to keep car cool​
These are samples of things that were not available and after upgrades were there. It gives you an idea of what kinds of things that can be done.
 

Trandall

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I agree OTA is a mixed bag. Kind of like when the OS on your PC/Phone changes when they occasionally alter the UI on major upgrades.

I am always extra cautious on autopilot after an upgrade, have seen a couple where it behaved a little different so just pay even more attention first few uses after upgrade.

There are a lot of things that come in with them and since there are a lot of soft buttons on the touch screen they really do have a lot of latitude to alter things.

Some key additions I've seen over the life of the car so far;
1) Added the ability to put a PIN on the glove box for it to open​
2) Added ability to add PIN to be able to run the car​
3) Added ability to alert, read aloud, and reply to text messages​
4) added additional alerts for door left open, windows open​
5) added vent windows feature​
6) added pet mode to keep car cool​
These are samples of things that were not available and after upgrades were there. It gives you an idea of what kinds of things that can be done.
Hasn't Tesla even added range and performance to certain model/ trims in OTA updates?
That would be the best OTA update. How awesome would it be if we get 312 mile range at delivery and Rivian finds 10 miles efficiency modifications and 3 months after delivery range increases to 322 miles That would be huge. Some forum members have expressed interest in paying thousands of dollars for accessories that would add 10-20 miles of range.
 

SANZC02

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Hasn't Tesla even added range and performance to certain model/ trims in OTA updates?
That would be the best OTA update. How awesome would it be if we get 312 mile range at delivery and Rivian finds 10 miles efficiency modifications and 3 months after delivery range increases to 322 miles That would be huge. Some forum members have expressed interest in paying thousands of dollars for accessories that would add 10-20 miles of range.
There have been tweaks but nothing that I have seen where I would say I got more range.

I did see where the BMS was modified and saw improvements in charge times as well as longer charge time before drop off of the rate for higher charge levels.

On the flip side, there was also an update that messed up navigation and another one that caused the climate control to stop working. They pushed fixes out for those very quickly (same day and next day) but the possibility to introduce bugs or unwanted behavior is a real possibility.
 

2021R1T

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There have been tweaks but nothing that I have seen where I would say I got more range.

I did see where the BMS was modified and saw improvements in charge times as well as longer charge time before drop off of the rate for higher charge levels.

On the flip side, there was also an update that messed up navigation and another one that caused the climate control to stop working. They pushed fixes out for those very quickly (same day and next day) but the possibility to introduce bugs or unwanted behavior is a real possibility.

There have been several occasions where I would have liked to have rolled back a new release. OTA the way Tesla uses it is just abuse. I lost count of how many major updates were released to only have a trickle of immediate follow-up updates trying to fix bugs. OTA is for the most part just a Tesla marketing gimmick. Hardly any updates have actually improved the physical drive aspect of the car. Still waiting for phantom braking to be eliminated.
 

thrill

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There have been several occasions where I would have liked to have rolled back a new release. OTA the way Tesla uses it is just abuse. I lost count of how many major updates were released to only have a trickle of immediate follow-up updates trying to fix bugs. OTA is for the most part just a Tesla marketing gimmick. Hardly any updates have actually improved the physical drive aspect of the car. Still waiting for phantom braking to be eliminated.
It'd be nice if Rivian implemented a feature such as the Chromebooks have, where the entire OS/update is downloaded in the backgorund and when ready you can reboot into it, and if it has a bug you can't live with, you can reboot into the previous version and wait for the next update.
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