MKBHD - Social Media Star Sells His Tesla Cybertruck Because He "Liked the Rivian Better"

[Webleyaz]

Well, I lose on both the young and beautiful side of things!

Ditto.

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[Epicloop]

Just look at the posts on this forum from people who have sold their Rivians to buy Silverado EV/Sierra EVs. The occasional negativity, but for the most part "enjoy your range!"

I believe that Rivian could mostly solve this market loss with two more modules & better thermals,

 

[Gamix]

This explains a little of it.

I know a write-off is typically more valuable against taxable ordinary income, than avoiding a capital gain (~15%). This could especially be true if it's larger, but the missing piece is where other ordinary income may be coming from. Say, someone isn't getting the millions of views that generate the ordinary income (on which write-offs apply). It might just be that other income exists for these people, from jobs, wealth, etc., where Youtube'ing creates more value in tax-deductions than is being created by eyeballs.

 

[ElGuano]

I believe that Rivian could mostly solve this market loss with two more modules & better thermals,

I recall Rivian originally planned a 180kwh max pack to supplement the original 130kwh large pack. I suspect it's hard to just cram in more battery (space, safety, cost/margins, demand etc.) to solve the problem.

I'd pay an extra $10-20k for a 200kwh R1T, in a heartbeat, and had spec'd out a CT with that "range extender" thing. But I suspect few other customers would accept the added cost.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I recall Rivian originally planned a 180kwh max pack to supplement the original 130kwh large pack. I suspect it's hard to just cram in more battery (space, safety, cost/margins, demand etc.) to solve the problem.

I'd pay an extra $10-20k for a 200kwh R1T, in a heartbeat, and had spec'd out a CT with that "range extender" thing. But I suspect few other customers would accept the added cost.

Hard? No. They had space for it (and had planned on using more cells). Watch tear down videos from Munro and Jerryrigeverything. The real reason is cost. Everything got more expensive during and after COVID. Battery cells are no exception. It's more cost efficient to refresh the platform to be more efficient with energy, than to cram more expensive battery cells into the pack... especially when you have to buy it from another entity, along with all the middleman markups.

Gen 1 has 17 ECUs. Gen 2 is said to have just 7. Imagine the power consumption difference in that alone.

 

[usulio]

Gen 1 has 17 ECUs. Gen 2 is said to have just 7. Imagine the power consumption difference in that alone.

Not much. Moving some electrons around is not a big energy cost compared to propelling a 7000lb vehicle. Less than 1%. I think that on the highway, the efficiency improvement of Gen 2 is pretty small. For a real increase in highway range, the huge battery pack would be necessary. Or driving slower.

 

[Ralph]

I believe that Rivian could mostly solve this market loss with two more modules & better thermals,

But would then likely have very little payload available, resulting in at least some lost sales.

 

[Epicloop]

It's more cost efficient to refresh the platform to be more efficient with energy, than to cram more expensive battery cells into the pack..

I would suggest both, if Rivian is loosing sales to GM due to range offer another pack option. When I ordered in 2018 cost per kw was $211 now it is $115, cost to produce has gone way down.

But would then likely have very little payload available, resulting in at least some lost sales

Yes it would have a reduced payload but no worse than the truck it is losing sales to. I believe the truck lost some weight with the refresh.

 

[Ralph]

I would suggest both, if Rivian is loosing sales to GM due to range offer another pack option. When I ordered in 2018 cost per kw was $211 now it is $115, cost to produce has gone way down.


Yes it would have a reduced payload but no worse than the truck it is losing sales to. I believe the truck lost some weight with the refresh.

What is the payload of the truck you are referring to?

Rivian might well be able to add more packs on a new design. But adding more on the current design, even though there is physical room, would make the current R1T almost useless for towing and many other uses.

 

[Epicloop]

What is the payload of the truck you are referring to?

Rivian might well be able to add more packs on a new design. But adding more on the current design, even though there is physical room, would make the current R1T almost useless for towing and many other uses.

3WT -1750 lbs
4WT- 1400 lbs
RST - 1400 lbs
The R1T with a 180kwh pack would be the same as the lower rated Silverado.
Adding 2 modules would put it at the same carrying capacity of the larger pack Silverado. I understand this is not ideal for all circumstances but I know it woukd be helpfull for me & many other individuals.

 

[Supratachophobia]

I was just reading that thread. The fanboism of Tesla in X is uncanny.

Whenever there’s a post about someone prefers another EV more than a Tesla, the default response from them is “well, does it drive itself?”

Sigh, it's been like that for years. There's nothing we could do about it.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I would suggest both, if Rivian is loosing sales to GM due to range offer another pack option. When I ordered in 2018 cost per kw was $211 now it is $115, cost to produce has gone way down.


Yes it would have a reduced payload but no worse than the truck it is losing sales to. I believe the truck lost some weight with the refresh.

Where's the data indicating Rivian is losing sales to GM? I've yet to see any. The two brands are very much after two different sets of buyers. Yes, of course there are outliers who cross shop. But outliers don't make a trend. At this state of Rivian's growth, their priority is net positive revenue—i.e. CAPEX reduction and sustained deliveries.

Those who buy the GM trucks [over greater max range] are driven by range anxiety and are somewhat misguided. Unless one is towing a lot, a supersized pack is not only unnecessary for most people it's also inefficient (for charging, for energy efficiency and cost efficiency). The more cells you jam into a platform, the more the vehicle weighs, the less you get out of each additional cell.

 

[Epicloop]

Where's the data indicating Rivian is losing sales to GM? I've yet to see any. The two brands are very much after two different sets of buyers. Yes, of course there are outliers who cross shop. But outliers don't make a trend. At this state of Rivian's growth, their priority is net positive revenue—i.e. CAPEX reduction and sustained deliveries.

Those who buy the GM trucks [over greater max range] are driven by range anxiety and are somewhat misguided. Unless one is towing a lot, a supersized pack is not only unnecessary for most people it's also inefficient (for charging, for energy efficiency and cost efficiency). The more cells you jam into a platform, the more the vehicle weighs, the less you get out of each additional cell.

While I agree for the most part, anyone looking at anything more than short distance towing should be giving the Silverado a good hard look. Better range towing (or not) & better charging speed. There is no shortage of application in the truck market.
The CT also failed in this regard.

 

[Ilovejunebugs]

Where's the data indicating Rivian is losing sales to GM? I've yet to see any. The two brands are very much after two different sets of buyers. Yes, of course there are outliers who cross shop. But outliers don't make a trend. At this state of Rivian's growth, their priority is net positive revenue—i.e. CAPEX reduction and sustained deliveries.

Those who buy the GM trucks [over greater max range] are driven by range anxiety and are somewhat misguided. Unless one is towing a lot, a supersized pack is not only unnecessary for most people it's also inefficient (for charging, for energy efficiency and cost efficiency). The more cells you jam into a platform, the more the vehicle weighs, the less you get out of each additional cell.

My husband has a Lightning and while he likes the truck, the range and charging suck. He's very interested in the silverado/sierra EV's. He drives on average 2,500 miles a month so range is important to him. If the Rivian max pack actually delivered 410-420 miles he'd be more interested in that but will likely get a GM EV truck in the near future.

 

[Dark-Fx]

3WT -1750 lbs
4WT- 1400 lbs
RST - 1400 lbs
The R1T with a 180kwh pack would be the same as the lower rated Silverado.
Adding 2 modules would put it at the same carrying capacity of the larger pack Silverado. I understand this is not ideal for all circumstances but I know it woukd be helpfull for me & many other individuals.

fun fact. my '22 R1T Quad Large has less payload capacity than my Sierra EV Denali with the biggest pack GM puts in them.

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