How many ordering Launch Edition ?

[Hmp10]

Talked to a rep via chat today and they said the electro-chromatic glass was canceled.

Interesting. Lucid was also teasing electrochromic glass for the upcoming Air sedan. The alpha cars even had a switch for dimming it above the rearview mirror. But Lucid dropped it, too, during development.

Electrochromic film is fairly rigid and it has no fade-out from tinted to untinted areas. Lucid will have a glass canopy with a single sheet of glass that runs from the B-pillar all the way down to the hood, which mean a significant bend near the sun visors. Also, there was no clean way to end the electrochromic film above the windshield without a very visible line showing.

Rivian, on the other hand, has a fairly flat roof with the glass area framed on all four sides. So neither excessive bending nor a termination line should have been issues. I wonder why they dropped it as an option. I know it would have been pricey (the smallish rear seat electrochromic roof panel in a Mercedes is a $5K option), but there are usually plenty of customers who will pay for such a feature.

Sponsored

 

[electruck]

I wonder why they dropped it as an option. I know it would have been pricey (the smallish rear seat electrochromic roof panel in a Mercedes is a $5K option), but there are usually plenty of customers who will pay for such a feature.

At the Mill Valley event about this time last year I asked how effective the EC roof was in terms of heat rejection. The response was that they weren't happy with the performance and were working on a fix. Seems that fix was to change to normal tinted glass.

 

[Hmp10]

At the Mill Valley event about this time last year I asked how effective the EC roof was in terms of heat rejection. The response was that they weren't happy with the performance and were working on a fix. Seems that fix was to change to normal tinted glass.

Lucid is saying pretty much the same thing. As the great majority of their early sales are in California and south Florida -- and they have plans to be big in the Middle East -- solar heat gain is a real issue for them. They are claiming the tint they are using has 97% solar energy rejection, with almost total UV-A and UV-B rejection. I hope so.

 

[Gshenderson]

Lucid will have a glass canopy with a single sheet of glass that runs from the B-pillar all the way down to the hood

As often as I take rocks to my windshield, my insurance company would not be happy replacing that massive and complex piece of glass!

 

[DuckTruck]

Totally agree. My far bigger concern is the lack of non-Tesla L3 charging options in the places I frequently travel - which is primarily commuting in and between UT, WY and MT. WY is currently a major dead zone and I’m pretty confident that I won’t be able to make my normal trip between UT and WY on the 300 mile battery unless something gets built in or around Evanston, WY (where Tesla has had a supercharger for several years). I don’t mind paying to charge for these destination trips. I just need more L3 chargers built.

Greg, I'm with you in not minding having to pay to gain access to these regions. I know I've mentioned this before, but it's hard to understand why ElectrifyAmerica has yet to complete their transcontinental 1-80/I-84 system by leaving Wyoming out of the network. Currently, EA has a 604-mile gap between its station in Salt Lake City and its location in Ogallala, Nebraska.

While some may say there are relatively few EVs registered between those two locations, that's somewhat irrelevant. EA's stated focus is to have DCFC stations every 70 miles on the main freeways to connect the country. This current lack of stations makes this stretch of I-80 a no-go crossing zone for non-Teslas.

Companies like Little America, with their sizeable facilities in Western Wyoming and Cheyenne would seem ideal candidates for EA or another large CCS-based charging system. Those crossing the country will need to spend time in their shops and restaurants while charging. People in ICE-mobiles can gas up and go without being held captive by the time needed to charge.

Given that Walmart seems to be the partner of choice for EA, there are eight cities in Wyoming with a total of 10 Supercenters between them. I hope these two companies are working to grow their partnership. Even with an expanded EA/Walmart network, Western Wyoming would still need stations near Rawlins, Little America and Rock Springs/Green River to keep the route navigable with minimal range anxiety.

Topping the 1-80 dead-zone, ElectrifyAmerica's present I-90/I-94 transcontinental system has a 1,086-mile gap between their four-outlet J1772 Combo station in Butte, Montana, and Woodbury, Minnesota, near the Wisconsin state line. If you choose to head East and stay on I-90, that gap grows to over 1,200 miles to reach Tomah, Wisconsin.

These unsupported gaps mean anyone on the West coast, from the San Francisco Bay area North will have to dip down into Central Utah and head East on I-70 through Denver to get past these gaps.

I would encourage everyone with (or considering) a CCS-based EV to contact ElectrifyAmerica at (833)632-2778 and share their thoughts before signing up as a customer. I just got off the phone with one of their reps to again share my concerns about the need to electrify I-80, I-90, I-94, and I-25. I hope others share their concerns about these areas as well, along with any other areas that look to be under-represented.

 

[ajdelange]

Obviously I don't know why EA has neglected I 80 whereas Tesla has numerous stations along it but I can guess. For Tesla the charging network "is not and never will be a profit center" quoth Elon. EA does not have any business, that I know of, other than charging cars and so they must make a profit at it. So my guess is that they don't think that this corridor will be profitable or not profitable relative to some route that they did populate. And I would guess that they came to that conclusion by looking at traffic flow along that route. The fact that no other network or private entity has chosen to install chargers here supports this theory.

Now I use I 91 in Vermont. I call it the "highway to nowhere". It goes up to the Canadian border and a Canadian super highway continues up to Sherbrooke. There is never any traffic to speak of and correspondingly there is no charging to speak of other than by Tesla with SC in Brattleboro and Hanover (NH but not far off I 91).

I do think this will change in time. I believe it is just EA prioritizing their capex. The money they got from VW is, I beleve, all spent. Future expansion will have to be funded out of earnings from the stations they have in operation.

 

[Gshenderson]

Obviously I don't know why EA has neglected I 80 whereas Tesla has numerous stations along it but I can guess. For Tesla the charging network "is not and never will be a profit center" quoth Elon. EA does not have any business, that I know of, other than charging cars and so they must make a profit at it. So my guess is that they don't think that this corridor will be profitable or not profitable relative to some route that they did populate. And I would guess that they came to that conclusion by looking at traffic flow along that route. The fact that no other network or private entity has chosen to install chargers here supports this theory.

Now I use I 91 in Vermont. I call it the "highway to nowhere". It goes up to the Canadian border and a Canadian super highway continues up to Sherbrooke. There is never any traffic to speak of and correspondingly there is no charging to speak of other than by Tesla with SC in Brattleboro and Hanover (NH but not far off I 91).

I do think this will change in time. I believe it is just EA prioritizing their capex. The money they got from VW is, I beleve, all spent. Future expansion will have to be funded out of earnings from the stations they have in operation.

All the more reason for Rivian to add this to their RAN plans.

 

[Rhidan]

it's hard to understand why ElectrifyAmerica has yet to complete their transcontinental 1-80/I-84 system by leaving Wyoming out of the network. Currently, EA has a 604-mile gap between its station in Salt Lake City and its location in Ogallala, Nebraska.

Begs the question how Rivian got the R1T to Jackson. ABRP says Normal, Illinois to Jackson, Wyoming is not possible. With some tinkering, you can make it work with about 17 extra hours of drive time through I-70 and back around through Idaho Falls. Clearly they just shipped it, to Jackson or the West Coast first. But if they want us to believe you can enjoy a Rivian in Jackson, Rivian should build some charger stations along the way!

 

[ajdelange]

All the more reason for Rivian to add this to their RAN plans.

And in so doing they would be emulating Tesla, that is, not expecting benefit through profit made by selling energy but benefit through wider acceptance of their vehicles as a viable means of transportation. IOW, these chargers are a marketing expense.

 

[Gshenderson]

And in so doing they would be emulating Tesla, that is, not expecting benefit through profit made by selling energy but benefit through wider acceptance of their vehicles as a viable means of transportation. IOW, these chargers are a marketing expense.

I’m fine with that. It was a smart move on Tesla’s part, but that was a very different time with almost zero existing infrastructure. Rivian will need to make decisions based on whether they believe other companies will build it out in a timely fashion such that it doesn’t inhibit Rivian sales. If there aren’t a lot of people demanding this, then I just have to be louder.

 

[ajdelange]

Begs the question how Rivian got the R1T to Jackson. ABRP says Normal, Illinois to Jackson, Wyoming is not possible.

There is always a way! Putting the vehicle on a truck is obviously one and perhaps the simplest but they managed to make it from Tierra del Fuego to LA so they ought to be able to make it from Normal to Jackson. One way to do it would be with a 48A Black Mamba (Level 2 portable EVSE wirh plug) and a box full of 60A circuit breakers (various manufacturers). You call ahead or send out an advance team in ICE cars or Teslas whose job is to find a gas statation, tire shop, muffler shop, welding shop etc, who will let someone come in and pop the breaker into a panel. Cut the plug off the Black Mamba (or ask them to furnish it without the plug - they will do that) and wire to the breaker. Bob's your uncle.

 

[ajdelange]

I’m fine with that. It was a smart move on Tesla’s part, but that was a very different time with almost zero existing infrastructure.

Quite right that Tesla didn't really have any alternative. For whatever reason they did it it was an absolutely brilliant move.

Rivian will need to make decisions based on whether they believe other companies will build it out in a timely fashion such that it doesn’t inhibit Rivian sales. If there aren’t a lot of people demanding this, then I just have to be louder.

Indeed I think your lobbying will be more fruitful directed at Rivian than at EA. The easy and quick way out for Rivian is, of course, to take Elon up on his offer but I can understand why they might not want to do that.

 

[Gshenderson]

Begs the question how Rivian got the R1T to Jackson. ABRP says Normal, Illinois to Jackson, Wyoming is not possible. With some tinkering, you can make it work with about 17 extra hours of drive time through I-70 and back around through Idaho Falls. Clearly they just shipped it, to Jackson or the West Coast first. But if they want us to believe you can enjoy a Rivian in Jackson, Rivian should build some charger stations along the way!

I think they could do it if they took I-70 into SLC and then I-15 north from there to Idaho Falls and then back east to Jackson. Some of that would be on 50kW chargers though, so I’m guess they didn’t actually do that but instead transported it there.

Edit: Just checked on PlugShare and looks like it could be done with charging on all 120kW and above chargers. Could either go I-80 and then drop down into Denver on I-76 in Nebraska, or take I-70 the whole way then Hwy 6/191 to I-15 into SLC.

My dad would call that “going around your ass to get to your elbow”.

 

[Gearhead500]

Regarding Rivian building out more infrastructure, they absolutely should build more charging stations everywhere. This only helps adoption of EVs ergo helps Rivian. Honestly, I don’t know why they wouldn’t build out more infrastructure and I’m a little disappointed we haven’t heard more. They can not simply rely on EA.

 

[DuckTruck]

Begs the question how Rivian got the R1T to Jackson. ABRP says Normal, Illinois to Jackson, Wyoming is not possible. With some tinkering, you can make it work with about 17 extra hours of drive time through I-70 and back around through Idaho Falls. Clearly they just shipped it, to Jackson or the West Coast first. But if they want us to believe you can enjoy a Rivian in Jackson, Rivian should build some charger stations along the way!

I noticed the same "You (almost) can't get there from here" routing issues in ABRP after reading that piece. Seeing Jackson featured gives me hope that the R.A.N. will include a station there. This is one of those places that screams "ADVENTURE!". It sits at the front door to Grand Teton National Park, which shares a border with Yellowstone N.P. A pass to one gets you into both.

Putting R.A.N. stations in Jackson and West Yellowstone would not only open up those magnificent locales to Rivianites (or are we "Riventurers" or "Radventurers"? - Quick, someone start a thread!), it would also help us to explore the mountains and National Forests that surround these two gems. There are a small number of non-DCFC chargers in the area, but little to give a great deal of range in a short amount of time. Again, I'll take this video as a tip that an R.A.N. station will be coming to the greater Jackson area soon.

Sponsored