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"Delaware’s Supreme Court on Monday overturned a judge’s ruling upholding a decision by state officials to prohibit electric vehicle maker Tesla from selling its cars directly to customers."

Hey Rivian - This opens the door for a NJ/PA/DE Service Center in Wilmington.

Now if they can use this as leverage against other states. I know that each state's rulings have no direct effect on other states, but will it send a message? It's even more ridiculous in Pennsylvania where Tesla is permitted but no other EVs direct sales are permitted.
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Guy

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Thanks for posting. A Delaware center would be very helpful to a large population.
I have tried to find out more about the Edison and Trenton centers due to open but cannot find anything on the city websites.
 

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How funny. Was just saying to the wife this morning maybe we should move to Delaware. We hate our entire state where we live right now. Hopefully they'll have a SC there by then! 😆
 

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Hey Rivian - This opens the door for a NJ/PA/DE Service Center in Wilmington.
It's a data point, and one step along the road to making state restrictions obsolete, but I don't really think this will have any immediate impact. First, because the ruling just kicks the case back to the lower court. Second, because Rivian is already allowed to sell and service vehicles in Delaware - that's not one of the restrictive states listed in the S-1. Third, because the dealership lobby is going to continue to challenge the direct sales model for years, using any loophole they can find. Fourth, because the ability to operate a service center is not related to the ability to sell in the state. Here in WA, Rivian can operate a service center but can't sell directly, so the sale is actually made in Illinois. Because Rivian doesn't have dealerships, Rivian can't do sales and test drives and other dealership things in the state, but we can certainly buy and get our vehicles serviced. Rivian can already operate a service center in DE if it wants to - this ruling is only about the ability to sell directly to the consumer.

The good news is that Rivian, like >60% of the Fortune 500, is incorporated in Delaware. Delaware corporate law is well-established and highly influential for this reason, so rulings like this set a standard that other states can't ignore, even though other states are not bound by Delaware law.

I agree that DE would be a great place for a service center, but the way Rivian decides where to put these and how Rivian prioritizes locations is an opaque process.
 

Ready4Rivian

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I don't think that was blocking a Rivian service center. Texas has the same law prohibiting direct sales by manufacturers and we currently have Rivian service centers in DFW, Austin and Houston.
 

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There is such a strange patchwork of state laws and city ordinances about these sales/ service centers, it's hard to say if this was even preventing Rivian from opening a service only facility. Changing it definitely is a step in the right direction no matter what!
 

ekiM

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"Delaware’s Supreme Court on Monday overturned a judge’s ruling upholding a decision by state officials to prohibit electric vehicle maker Tesla from selling its cars directly to customers."

Hey Rivian - This opens the door for a NJ/PA/DE Service Center in Wilmington.

Now if they can use this as leverage against other states. I know that each state's rulings have no direct effect on other states, but will it send a message? It's even more ridiculous in Pennsylvania where Tesla is permitted but no other EVs direct sales are permitted.
Good deal, I'm definitely one of the few DE Rivian owners. I've never seen one with a DE tag here. My service center was in NYC, but I managed to get my ride delivered after they initially said I had to pick it up in Brooklyn.
 

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Good deal, I'm definitely one of the few DE Rivian owners. I've never seen one with a DE tag here. My service center was in NYC, but I managed to get my ride delivered after they initially said I had to pick it up in Brooklyn.
I live in PA, only a few miles from the DE border and was told the same thing, specifically that the R1S I selected from the R1 Shop had to be delivered to Brooklyn. Worse, my guide stated that even though it is close to a three-hour drive from my location to Brooklyn, I would likely need to go there to pick it up. It wasn't clear to me if that meant that Brooklyn was simply too busy these days to deliver, or if Rivian considers 125 miles not far enough for home delivery.

For various reasons mostly unrelated to the delivery issue, I unmatched from the R1 Shop vehicle, and reverted to my earlier reservation configuration. Because of that change, I no longer have a delivery estimate, but as part of the config change discussion with my guide, learned several things.

For example, I learned that if one were to have a delivery address just across the Mason & Dixon line which is only a few miles from my house, delivery would not be to Brooklyn but instead via the new Gaithersburg, MD facility. That's good news for future Rivian owners in the First State. I also learned that the MD facility is technically up and running, though not fully staffed. It's also in my guide's words, "not yet customer facing." Per the guide, that final change is close though.

Until that last discussion with my guide, I didn't realize that Rivian made a distinction between your delivery address and your permanent address. That is an easy change, so to avoid Brooklyn, I'm now using a Wilmington, DE address. It wasn't clear to me if the Rivian will be delivered to Wilmington, or if I will need to go to Gaithersburg to pick the R1S up. Both Brooklyn and Gaithersburg are each roughly 125 miles from me, but MD is an order of magnitude easier to get to than NYC, so either way a win.

I will still need to use Brooklyn as the service center since my permanent location is north of the Mason-Dixon line, but there's light at the end of that tunnel too. Once the Trenton, NJ service center opens, that will be my location. I wasn't able to get any info on when that will be unfortunately, but it can't happen soon enough from my perspective. I'm even OK with waiting a few more months, or even to early 2024 for the R1S if it means not having to go to Brooklyn.
 
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Yossarian

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Thanks for posting. A Delaware center would be very helpful to a large population.
I have tried to find out more about the Edison and Trenton centers due to open but cannot find anything on the city websites.
As my previous post indicates, Gaithersburg is close to fully opening and it looks like that will be the DE service location, at least for the immediate future. I too wasn't able to get info on Trenton and can only hope that Rivian is making good progress there and in Edison.

It's a data point, and one step along the road to making state restrictions obsolete, but I don't really think this will have any immediate impact. . . . because the ability to operate a service center is not related to the ability to sell in the state.
It's true that vehicle sales may not be explicitly tied to the ability of a manufacturer to operate a service center in a given state. However many states, like my home state of PA, don't allow vehicle manufacturers to directly operate service centers. So you are free to purchase a Rivian directly from the manufacturer in PA, but Rivian is not permitted to own and operate a service center in the state.

Tesla got around this restriction by getting an exemption from the dealer sales requirement in PA. They, and they alone were allowed to open and operate a limited number of centers in the Commonwealth; under pressure from the dealer network, the Legislature stated there will be no more such exemptions in the future.

It will be a long, tough road to change the law in PA. Rivian surely recognizes this and so we have SC's opening just over the state line in NJ, MD and OH. My guess is that the change needed to allow a SC in DE will happen much sooner than in PA.
 

FirstStateR1T

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Good deal, I'm definitely one of the few DE Rivian owners. I've never seen one with a DE tag here. My service center was in NYC, but I managed to get my ride delivered after they initially said I had to pick it up in Brooklyn.
I was delivery #2 for the state almost a year ago. Newark area and one of the Mid-Atlantic Rivian Club reps. Where are you located?

As for a service center the i95 corridor is a perfect spot to service the TriState area for sure, no if they would just finish the RAN chargers at the mall it would be sweet too!!!
 

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Zoidz

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I was delivery #2 for the state almost a year ago. Newark area and one of the Mid-Atlantic Rivian Club reps. Where are you located?

As for a service center the i95 corridor is a perfect spot to service the TriState area for sure, no if they would just finish the RAN chargers at the mall it would be sweet too!!!
RAM Chargers At the Mall - Christiana? The map does not zoom in close enought for me to see.
 

FirstStateR1T

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RAM Chargers At the Mall - Christiana? The map does not zoom in close enought for me to see.
Yes, 6 RAN fast chargers at the outer loop near Cabela's, Nordstroms, & the bus stop. All of the wiring and transformers are in place. Just need the actual Rivian RAN units and hookup.
 
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Zoidz

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Yes, 6 RAN fast chargers at the outer loop near Cabela's, Nordstroms, & the bus stop. All of the wiring and transformers are in place. Just need the actual Rivian RAN units and hookup.
Awesome, I was not aware of that. I have a vacation home in Slaughter Beach. I'm putting in an EVSE there, but it's nice to know that RAN is an option as well.
 

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It's a data point, and one step along the road to making state restrictions obsolete, but I don't really think this will have any immediate impact. First, because the ruling just kicks the case back to the lower court. Second, because Rivian is already allowed to sell and service vehicles in Delaware - that's not one of the restrictive states listed in the S-1. Third, because the dealership lobby is going to continue to challenge the direct sales model for years, using any loophole they can find. Fourth, because the ability to operate a service center is not related to the ability to sell in the state. Here in WA, Rivian can operate a service center but can't sell directly, so the sale is actually made in Illinois. Because Rivian doesn't have dealerships, Rivian can't do sales and test drives and other dealership things in the state, but we can certainly buy and get our vehicles serviced. Rivian can already operate a service center in DE if it wants to - this ruling is only about the ability to sell directly to the consumer.

The good news is that Rivian, like >60% of the Fortune 500, is incorporated in Delaware. Delaware corporate law is well-established and highly influential for this reason, so rulings like this set a standard that other states can't ignore, even though other states are not bound by Delaware law.

I agree that DE would be a great place for a service center, but the way Rivian decides where to put these and how Rivian prioritizes locations is an opaque process.
 

milliemc

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"Delaware’s Supreme Court on Monday overturned a judge’s ruling upholding a decision by state officials to prohibit electric vehicle maker Tesla from selling its cars directly to customers."

Hey Rivian - This opens the door for a NJ/PA/DE Service Center in Wilmington.

Now if they can use this as leverage against other states. I know that each state's rulings have no direct effect on other states, but will it send a message? It's even more ridiculous in Pennsylvania where Tesla is permitted but no other EVs direct sales are permitted.
Wish that helped us here in NM. I chatted recently with Rivian and things look bleak for us getting a vehicle here in NM. Tesla was able to deliver our Model 3 to our house within months of an order, but that doesn't seem possible for a RIVIAN. I am not clear WHY that is.
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