Nervous about Rivian purchase as date draws nearer

[Deleted member 11292]

IThat said, I know the $100 reservations for the Cybertruck (2 million)

It always blows my mind how people will fall for Elon Musk getting up on stage and making promises expressly so that they'll loan him hundreds of millions of dollars, interest free. He'll probably make more money never building it.

There's one born every minute.

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[emoore]

The “experts” said the same thing for many years about Tesla going bankrupt and now they are the solid EV company.

 

[QGessner]

The Cybertruck specs will change a lot once it comes out and the price will be much higher. I'm in on one as well and the look is so unconventional. I just don't know how this is going to go. Everyone put only a 100 down on it.....how many will actually go through with the purchase? We'll find out....but not anytime soon as they are still far off. I had the same concerns though...and I paid full price for my R1T. If you are paying the pre price hike pricing I would really really not worry. And by the way....if want a luxury truck....you aren't looking at a Ford, Dodge, or Chrysler. Not in the same category.

Agreed. I do think that many of those 2 million reservations will vanish once the price increase are announced and people have to actually come up with the cash. I want an Adventure vehicle - not at all interested in the slightest in a traditional truck from Ford or anyone else - and that goes for their EV's as well. The looks and style are not even close to Rivian's

 

[riviantogo]

Take delivery of your Rivian. You knew that you were buying a startup's vehicle when you signed up. And it's not as if Tesla hasn't had its days of doom and gloom, but look at them now.
I can only speak about the R1S and I say it is a positively superb vehicle. Some in this forum tend to dwell on small things. The big picture is that it is an incredible vehicle. We also have an RX-350 that's a late model, and the Rivian is every bit as good, ride-wise, and the electronics take it a generation ahead.

So, no regrets. If you are a preorder place holder it seems foolish to pass up this chance on such a nice vehicle at such a big discount. At retail, I might debate it a bit more if I hadn't driven it much, but having driven it for a while, I'd take one. But getting it at wholesale, I'd take it in a second.

 

[QGessner]

It always blows my mind how people will fall for Elon Musk getting up on stage and making promises expressly so that they'll loan him hundreds of millions of dollars, interest free. He'll probably make more money never building it.

There's one born every minute.

I have no doubt that the Cybertruck will be mass produced. It may cost $110K each an still have the giant ugly wiper - but it will be produced.

 

[SDH]

I see your concerns and I was someone who backed out of buying a Tesla in 2017 because of rumors they were in trouble/going bust/bonds due etc. etc. No real point in trying to compare Tesla with Rivian although some small similarities on their respective journey's.

Here's my $0.02:

1. The EV world has advanced tremendously and that doesn't mean it's a zero sum game. Whether we like it or not, EVs are here to stay (you debate to what % vs ICE cars going fwd). So the EV market is healthy - there is demand (even incentives). No doubt about it. Competition is not a bad thing. All this talk about once the big ICE manufactures like VAG, Ford, Toyota et al. get into EV's then the new 'upstarts' like Tesla/Rivian etc. are dead. Total BS!

2. Rivian specific ... ask yourself (in fact any company) if they make a decent product. Something that really has a place, is desirable, people will save up for and put their discretionary spend into. To me, Rivian 100% fits this bill. It's not a works truck so Rivian are not dependent on the pool guy, ranch owner, landscape gardener, builder for sales. 99% of the buyers i reckon are similar to me. Have discretionary income to spend, like their gadgets and are probably in that middle-class kind of bracket (if I'm allowed to say that these days). No shortage of these folks out there. I appreciate forums are biased to owners but seriously, test ride a Rivian and tell me (money aside) you don't want one.

3. Ignore the stock price ... should never have floated at $70-odd, far less been bid up to $120-odd. If I put my financial analyst hat on and model the company every which way I reckon $20/share today is about right. Well done to them for IPO'ing at a massive price because that's hard cash up front in the coffers that no-one can take away now. Bad luck early investors, you win some, you lose some. That's why we diversify. My point here is don't draw a line from 52-week high downward to $0. Only total sh!t companies disappear for good (Woolworth's, Enron), even much of Lehman Bros is still around, albeit under a different name. You seriously think if Rivian went to $0 and couldn't pay to keep the lights on that someone, somewhere in the world wouldn't buy them for $1. Rivian is too good to disappear.

So in short, if you like it, can afford it, then go for it. You only live once.

Peace out, my friend.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I feel this post in my soul. Pre-March reservation, tried holding out for the Max Pack (so I could tow a trailer) but they cut every feature I wanted down to nothing. Even the table? C'mon, how hard could that be, right? LOL. But had no luck getting anything from my local Chevy dealership (even the ICE truck I wanted was back-ordered until doomsday, it feels like). Reservations in for Cybertruck, Silverado EV, even a Canoo truck (if they ever start producing those). I have $2300 in reservations in for different vehicles but couldn't get anything. Current work truck has >240,000 miles and just couldn't wait any longer so pulled the trigger on an R1T from the shop on Monday, and expecting to pick it up next week.

If you spend all day online you're going to find a million things wrong with the truck. I'm paranoid about everything from the axles falling out to the windshield cracking if I breathe on it wrong to the bolts falling out before I can even get it home. But this morning I was passed by another one on the highway. And every time I go to my local Costco I see them in the parking lot. So people are out there, and they're driving them, and fingers crossed, knock on wood and all that, I'll be too busy driving and enjoying mine to come back here and post about everything that's broken.

But that 4.5' bed is still painful, coming from the world of work trucks. May trade up to Silverado EV or CyberTruck just for a longer bed. We'll see.

Unrelated but semi-related, the Q1 sales push is real. My local SC is already filled up with delivery appointments until the end of the month. Let's see what numbers look like next month, eh?

 

[ads75]

First off, I have had my order in for an R1T since February 2022, so under the old pricing. I also have an order in for the Cybertruck @ ~ 600K in line. I LOVE the looks and performance of the R1T and the Cybertruck looks I like, but not as well. I have been looking forward to my "April-May 2023" delivery window - but... As time draws nearer to the actual purchase, I continue to read about what Rivian has/is taking away - reasons I wanted it to begin with. The Camp Kitchen is still nowhere to be found, the automatic Tonneau cover is gone, as well as the Fronk 12v charger, now the 12v charger under the center dash and the elimination of the Meridian sound system (with an in-house replacement). Then we see the financial numbers like in this article: https://apple.news/AJYQyrW7PQxaac3mOMmpL9A

All of this really concerns me, even though I REALLY want an R1T, if the company is going to survive once Tesla, who has a proven track record of not only mass producing vehicles, but being profitable - comes out with the Cybertruck. I am concerned I am going to have an R1T that is ~2 years old, the company does under and no one is updating the software, and because of this, I would not be able to sell it if I wanted to. Is it just me? Any help here? How in the world is Rivian going to hang on long enough, and get enough mass production to become profitable, especially once the Cybertruck comes out - with all of its features?

Why is the current lack of a Camp Kitchen a concern for Rivian but not for Tesla? Did I miss something from Tesla, or is a Tesla camp kitchen coming like bullet proof glass, full self driving, outboard boat motor?

 

[QGessner]

First off, I have had my order in for an R1T since February 2022, so under the old pricing. I also have an order in for the Cybertruck @ ~ 600K in line. I LOVE the looks and performance of the R1T and the Cybertruck looks I like, but not as well. I have been looking forward to my "April-May 2023" delivery window - but... As time draws nearer to the actual purchase, I continue to read about what Rivian has/is taking away - reasons I wanted it to begin with. The Camp Kitchen is still nowhere to be found, the automatic Tonneau cover is gone, as well as the Fronk 12v charger, now the 12v charger under the center dash and the elimination of the Meridian sound system (with an in-house replacement). Then we see the financial numbers like in this article: https://apple.news/AJYQyrW7PQxaac3mOMmpL9A

All of this really concerns me, even though I REALLY want an R1T, if the company is going to survive once Tesla, who has a proven track record of not only mass producing vehicles, but being profitable - comes out with the Cybertruck. I am concerned I am going to have an R1T that is ~2 years old, the company does under and no one is updating the software, and because of this, I would not be able to sell it if I wanted to. Is it just me? Any help here? How in the world is Rivian going to hang on long enough, and get enough mass production to become profitable, especially once the Cybertruck comes out - with all of its features?

UPDATE: It must be karma - just moments ago, I heard back from my Rivian Guide that they have a VIN number for me! Literally - just hours after my original post. Thanks for all of your comments and feedback. - I am going to take delivery.

 

[SDH]

UPDATE: It must be karma - just moments ago, I heard back from my Rivian Guide that they have a VIN number for me! Literally - just hours after my original post. Thanks for all of your comments and feedback. - I am going to take delivery.

Good on y'er. You'll frickin' love it.

 

[SDH]

But that 4.5' bed is still painful, coming from the world of work trucks. May trade up to Silverado EV or CyberTruck just for a longer bed. We'll see.

Please, please don't confuse a Rivian for a work truck. You'll just be disappointed. Sure, it has a bed, it's even called a truck but it ain't a work truck. Yes, some folks might be able to use it as such but in reality a cheaper gas F-150 and R1T are chalk and cheese. I mean this in the nicest possible way.

 

[QGessner]

Please, please don't confuse a Rivian for a work truck. You'll just be disappointed. Sure, it has a bed, it's even called a truck but it ain't a work truck. Yes, some folks might be able to use it as such but in reality a cheaper gas F-150 and R1T are chalk and cheese. I mean this in the nicest possible way.

I hear what you are saying, but it's not a "cream puff" either (see "Fully Loaded! Can an EV Pickup (Rivian R1T) Survive a Hard Days Work?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XuvwkIxrXw

 

[Rivy]

No need to worry. With the frunk outlet gone, I'm expecting to see Q2 revenue skyrocket...

 

[CrazyOne]

I don't really care about selling. If the car works for 10 years, I will keep it. Hope the warranty will be honoured and parts will be available. I also don't care too much about software updates - with the exception of Android Auto (may never happen)

 

[s4wrxttcs]

In my experience the biggest drawbacks are:

Long wait for Service Appointments
Frustrating Support/Service where you have to go through the phone. You can't just message them through text or email. There is no bug report mechanism.
The Nevigation is bad.
They claim the tok noise on acceleration and declaration is normal and won't fix it
Seems to be a lot of "leaving you stranded issues" - This one is the most concerning, but we need some mechanism to track the actual percentage of vehicles impacted.

If I had to do it all over again I would have put off delivery till a future time.

Is now the right time? I dunno

The question I have for myself is whether its safe to invest in Rivian as I already own one. I can't say I'm satisfied with their execution to feel confident in investing.

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