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Lack of Communication??

Shzeph

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Well, one could argue that “Late Summer” (August/September) would still qualify as “Later This Year”

So as an eternal optimist, I’m going to hope it’s just a phrasing issue and not another configurator delay
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OldEVGuy

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Well, I guess it was in response to having a reservation, but the email arrived several months after I made my reservation. I received the email below on May 12th.
I made my deposit yesterday (7/1) for the R1S.The confirmation email I received doesn’t say when the configurator will be available. It just says, “when it’s time to configure your vehicle.” It does say that production will begin in 2021.
 

LeoH

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To avoid a lease ( I knew their residual value is unrealistic and their lease rates are high ) and avoid depreciation of a new car once other EVs roll out, I opted for a CPO Tesla. The problem is that I must have Rear Facing Seats to fit 4 kids, so my options were limited to begin with. I placed my order in Q2 2020, and I am planning to get the performance version, so hopefully I will skip few folks who are going for the smaller battery pack.

for me, my model S has way too many issues and their service department is the worst, I have owned different brands of cars over the past 20 years, from a Kia Reo up to a Lexus IS ( I avoid German cars in general ) none of them were as bad; interestingly Mazda was the best. So I can;t wait to jump ship.

ADAS, the Tesla is mighty impressive, but my relative has a Cadillac ( I think it's CT6 ) and he tells me is more accurate that his Tesla. I have not confirmed personally, but might worth researching. I am software engineer, and I have trust issues so I get higher anxiety using ADAS especially in a car that gave grief in quality, and since I work from home, I did not have to rely on it so far. Rivian's founder RJ is a person that I really think highly of, so I don't mind giving his product the benefit of the doubt.

Good for you. @LeoH Glad you have the option. Since I have a lease and based on how Tesla calculates the residual value (they add the $7500 tax credit to it), it would be like buying a used car 7.5K above the KBB. This time, I will be buying my Model X instead of leasing it. That way, I don't have to be locked in for 3 years and anytime I want to jump ship and get the R1S, I have that as an option on my side.

Per the little modelling I did earlier on this forum, Rough-calculation-of-rivian-orders-delivery-times, I will be getting my R1S in 2022 - Q3. So I will be looking at jumping ship in 2023. For those who have the ability to hang on with status quo, I would say hang-on until the awesome vehicles start rolling out from the Rivian plant.

Another factor that will determine if I wanna jump ship earlier is the Federal tax credit. I am hoping that the bulk order that Amazon has with Rivian doesn't count towards the EV federal tax credit. I know they are not passenger vehicles but I am no tax expert. But that is something I will need to keep an eye on.

Talking about not wanting to buy another Tesla. I feel your pain. Especially recent challenges with getting to talk to Service Center or any support folks, finance folks etc has been a daunting challenge. I hope Rivian doesn't go that route.

Last time, I was on a call with Tesla finance, I had to wait on the line for 1.5 hours before a human could come on the other side. But based on my testing so far, Tesla has the best Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) system out there. I have tested Merc, BMW, Volvo and none of them are as good as Tesla. ADAS is very key for me as I have 90% commute on the freeway and face bumper to bumper traffic in the city every day when I go to work.

Screenshot_20200622-134631.png
 

johnking

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ADAS, the Tesla is mighty impressive, but my relative has a Cadillac ( I think it's CT6 ) and he tells me is more accurate that his Tesla. I have not confirmed personally, but might worth researching. I am software engineer, and I have trust issues so I get higher anxiety using ADAS especially in a car that gave grief in quality, and since I work from home, I did not have to rely on it so far. Rivian's founder RJ is a person that I really think highly of, so I don't mind giving his product the benefit of the doubt.
Reading your reply made me smile. Coz I am in your field as well and I tend to trust the ADAS more :) . I use it for 95% of all my drives even in the inner roads. From what I can see, it does take a lot to get to Level 2 autonomous level. RJ has mentioned that the Rivian vehicles will have Level 2 out the door and Level 3 will come later. The fundamentals of Tesla having such a good ADAS system is because they control all moving, outputs parts using software. There is a device driver for each of these parts and this gives them good control over the various components that need to be adjusted for a sequence of action, maneuver the car undertakes . Having more sensors and ability to process the inputs from the sensors is another winning attribute in addition to the fact that most of these sensors, software, hardware are all developed in-house. This is one aspect where the big-auto companies will need to invest more as they mostly depend on suppliers for these capabilities (Bosch, Mobileye). Rivian on the other hand is investing toe-to-toe in strategy with Tesla here. Based on job descriptions on their website and public interviews with their engineers, it is clear that they they are following the same approach. The most recent example for this is the ability to test a car's tire balance remotely using software. That's where I think Rivian has an edge and their Level 2 systems will be better than other non-Tesla ones in the market today.
 
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skyote

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it is clear that they they are following the same approach
Not quite. Rivian might be customizing, but there is information in the public domain about them using sensors & architecture from NXP (some forum posts here too).

I personally believe this approach is better that completely DIY, as long as it's open & extensible.
 

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johnking

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Not quite. Rivian might be customizing, but there is information in the public domain about them using sensors & architecture from NXP (some forum posts here too).

I personally believe this approach is better that completely DIY, as long as it's open & extensible.
That's fine they can use NXP and other suppliers. What I meant by their strategy being toe to to is with respect to this - "The fundamentals of Tesla having such a good ADAS system is because they control all moving, outputs parts using software. There is a device driver for each of these parts and this gives them good control over the various components that need to be adjusted for a sequence of action, maneuver the car undertakes . "

This gives control over the entirety of the vehicle.

Example - While taking a turn with ADAS, the computer reads the sensory inputs and controls the steering wheel while also being able to balance the suspension by giving it input to take the turn well as well as make it smooth. That would be way better than having no control over the suspension. The 'software first' principle makes it possible to get this level of control over the parts.
 
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Shzeph

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I decided to email them last Friday and inquire about the configurator, just to see if I got “Late Summer” or “Later This Year”

Turns out, I got neither!

Who wants to try and speculate as to what “Right Around The Corner” means?
Rivian R1T R1S Lack of Communication?? 41B1527F-02C4-4710-B349-5783A0C3DCE2
 

EyeOnRivian

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I decided to email them last Friday and inquire about the configurator, just to see if I got “Late Summer” or “Later This Year”

Turns out, I got neither!

Who wants to try and speculate as to what “Right Around The Corner” means?
It means you either reached the same person I did and/or they're working from a script. A few days ago I messaged Rivian and asked about the timing/order of test drives and vehicle safety ratings with respect to when the online configurator would be available, basically in relative, general terms, meaning no specific dates. This was their response:

"The configuration process is right around the corner. Test drives and safety rating details will be coming at a later date!"
 

Shzeph

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Quite possible. I just wanted to see what they said, tbh.

The way I use the phrase at least, “Right Around The Corner” is far more immediate/imminent than “later this year”

Who knows, perhaps we’ll all get a pleasant surprise and the configurator will show up sooner than expected
 

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Coast2Coast

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Well, it's July already. "Right Around the Corner" could mean a lot of things, but I'm taking it to mean August or possibly early September which would be consistent with earlier pronouncements of "late Summer". The long wait is nearly over and, by that, I don't mean we'll have Rivians sitting in our driveways soon.

Once the configurator is up and running, specs, details, dimensions, options and most of the stuff we've been wondering about will be more or less locked in. Yes, there will still be some wiggle room, but major variables will be nailed down. I can live with that. We'll need to start a new thread or number of threads that discuss the details of configuration - how ticking off this or that option affects pricing, packaging and delivery.
 

skyote

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We'll need to start a new thread or number of threads that discuss the details of configuration - how ticking off this or that option affects pricing, packaging and delivery.
Hopefully that will be something we will contend with soon!
 

whyasky

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Hopefully that will be something we will contend with soon!
As late as June 22nd, they tweeted "late summer", so hopefully that means next 6 weeks. We'll see:

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