Ocean Coast speculation thread

[Arky]

I imagine this is probably a futile effort because if anyone knows anything we'd probably be hearing about it but it seems about time to pull on the threads and see what we get.

We've been given news of seeing OC in "Fall" which is a tremendously vague timeline, and it feels like a lot can happen between now and "soon". So let's spitball a bit - I have a reservation that had a most recent delivery update of Nov-Dec 22 with OC. Does anyone have a sooner upcoming date with that spec? Have you heard anything? Have we seen any more evidence of this in the wild at all?

Part of my concern is if they're going to try another price 'adjustment' on preorder holders, they've since received probably about 40,000 more orders than the last time they tried this so they're in a much better position, and those new orders do not have the preferential pricing that very likely has little to no margin in it. I'd put it at a low-ish likelihood but so much of a reservation is up in the air without clear terms, and the BPA made it explicitly *unclear*. The other concern is simply planning for the truck. If the dates they give as of today are accurate then cool, no problem, but if that's just a case of "just tell them something then change it later" that's kind of a pain to plan around, and I'd rather just know what's going on. It seems kind of strange that they couldn't figure out how a light wood tone should work in the last six months so it feels like something else is going on here.

I do wish they were a little better on communication, because a lot of what they've said in the past has degraded trust in their plans and schedule it's hard to take them at their word when they give very short vague answers.

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[mabowden]

Theres a few speculation threads. Earliest revised delivery estimates put some folks at Oct/Nov 2022. That being said, it is likely we do not hear about it until next month...

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/earliest-ocean-coast-delivery-estimates.6636/

I'm also a tad disappointed that this has not been at least mentioned since early this year

One good thing is, it seems like Rivian is heavily batching interiors (look at all the FE deliveries, and all the FE at the R1T shop), so my guess would be they make a TON of OC when it is available.

 

[Blueassassin]

I'm wondering what will come first the camp kitchen or the OC interior? Im also hoping to get lucky and get them both.

 

[mabowden]

I'm wondering what will come first the camp kitchen or the OC interior? Im also hoping to get lucky and get them both.

Looks like we have a Sep-Oct with OC chiming in! A new record!
If blueassassin hasn't heard anything yet, it's still unlikely we see OC before oct/nov....

 

[Kmann1994]

It seems kind of strange that they couldn't figure out how a light wood tone should work in the last six months so it feels like something else is going on here.

The delay of OC is only partially due to them reworking the wood. The other (likely main) part of it is an intentional choice by Rivian to NOT produce OC right now so that they can streamline production into 2 variants instead of 3 (Black Mountain and Forest Edge). This was done to help them "deliver as many cars as possible" for the majority of the year.

By all accounts, that seems to have been a successful and correct decision for them. We have people with VINs approaching 11,000 now.

All good things in life are worth waiting for.

 

[mabowden]

The delay of OC is only partially due to them reworking the wood. The other (likely main) part of it is an intentional choice by Rivian to NOT produce OC right now so that they can streamline production into 2 variants instead of 3 (Black Mountain and Forest Edge). This was done to help them "deliver as many cars as possible" for the majority of the year.

By all accounts, that seems to have been a successful and correct decision for them. We have people with VINs approaching 11,000 now.

All good things in life are worth waiting for.

Yes, I would guess this is part of their "batching" strategy... I'm also in the camp that the longer you wait the better (less headaches) product you will receive. There are plenty of people on this forum talking about selling their truck due to a growing pain that the company may fix by the time OC is available.

 

[Arky]

Yes, I would guess this is part of their "batching" strategy... I'm also in the camp that the longer you wait the better (less headaches) product you will receive. There are plenty of people on this forum talking about selling their truck due to a growing pain that the company may fix by the time OC is available.

This is the camp I was in (more time in production = potentially better quality) but it may have already bit us in the butt with the tax credit changes. It depends if that BPA even holds up to scrutiny and I give it a 50/50 shot at best. I want my OC but if it really comes down to paying $7500 extra that's far beyond what it was worth to me. I do believe I would have had a decent shot at a truck before today had I specced BM.

I think the first actual delivery of one is going to give a lot more confidence in the timeline, before that it really seems like a shot in the dark when they'll actually start.

 

[NY_Rob]

I'm a little nervous that they might be out of some other option like the ever popular 20" AT wheels once they start building OC vehicles. That would force them to build BM and FE vehicles optioned with 21" and 22" wheels again adding to the OC delay.

 

[domoplaytime]

The delay of OC is only partially due to them reworking the wood. The other (likely main) part of it is an intentional choice by Rivian to NOT produce OC right now so that they can streamline production into 2 variants instead of 3 (Black Mountain and Forest Edge). This was done to help them "deliver as many cars as possible" for the majority of the year.

When they add another work shift in the fall, will they use all shifts to produce OC or just expand production to all three interior variants? At some point they will get through all BM & FE preorders with original pricing, so continuing to produce BM & FE while ramping OC on the new shift means higher margins for Rivian but longer waits for OC preorders.

 

[Zoidz]

When they add another work shift in the fall, will they use all shifts to produce OC or just expand production to all three interior variants? At some point they will get through all BM & FE preorders with original pricing, so continuing to produce BM & FE while ramping OC on the new shift means higher margins for Rivian but longer waits for OC preorders.

This is purely a guess, but with a lot of manufacturing experience in my past. There are challenges to overcome (primarily communications/people related) just adding that second shift. It seems like it should be almost transparent, but it's not. So... I think they will continue for a while with the batching concept even after adding second shift, just to keep the variables to a minimum.

To get to "build to order" in real time on the line, it takes a ton of pre-staging of the proper components in the right locations with validation checks for every component installed, simply to ensure that you don't get OC dash trim with BM rear trim and FG seats. You wouldn't really get that vehicle, but if things are not perfect in real time in a fully automated build to order production line, the line will probably get shut down to get things figured out, reset, restaged and back in sequence. Lost production time & lost money. I'm not sure Rivian is ready to go there?

 

[SASSquatch]

What pisses me off is that a lot of folks are buying just to flip the R1T for a profit while RIVIAN takes it on the nose because they agreed to honor the pre-March 1 and global supply chain inflated prices.

If I were RIVIAN, I would have forced anyone who wanted to keep their reservation after they honored the original price to sign a binding agreement that they couldn't sell their vehicle for 6 months after taking delivery or they lose their pre-March 1 pricing.

Because, if I'm RIVIAN, I'm losing 1.6 Billion per quarter trying to usher in a new era of environmentally conscious adventure seeking and if I CAN'T make any profit - your ASS that isn't doing any of that and is just trying to make a quick buck shouldn't either.

But then again, I'm just a SASSquatch on the lam from humanity so what do I know...

 

[Blueassassin]

Especially when you see a lot of these are somehow dealers that have the Rivians already... If its a dealership they bought it to flip it come on.

 

[ads75]

What pisses me off is that a lot of folks are buying just to flip the R1T for a profit while RIVIAN takes it on the nose because they agreed to honor the pre-March 1 and global supply chain inflated prices.

If I were RIVIAN, I would have forced anyone who wanted to keep their reservation after they honored the original price to sign a binding agreement that they couldn't sell their vehicle for 6 months after taking delivery or they lose their pre-March 1 pricing.

Because, if I'm RIVIAN, I'm losing 1.6 Billion per quarter trying to usher in a new era of environmentally conscious adventure seeking and if I CAN'T make any profit - your ASS that isn't doing any of that and is just trying to make a quick buck shouldn't either.

But then again, I'm just a SASSquatch on the lam from humanity so what do I know...

Some people are flipping for pure profit, others are tired of tired of problems and repeat service visits for the same problem, so they are bailing, with profit. I understand both mindsets. Good price or not, I’m not going to deal with a vehicle that’s a headache.

I know GM has talked about potentially voiding warranties on vehicles flipped in less than a year. But GM and Rivian are in two different spots, one is established, and re-established post bankruptcy, and the other is trying to establish themselves. Rivian is trying good will/best intentions for honoring old pricing. It’s good publicity, and has a finite bottom, only so many orders before March 1. People already feel like beta testers for early builds, raising prices on vehicles with potential problems, service center issues, and no extended track record can lead to a short company life.

 

[AxelR]

What pisses me off is that a lot of folks are buying just to flip the R1T for a profit while RIVIAN takes it on the nose because they agreed to honor the pre-March 1 and global supply chain inflated prices.

If I were RIVIAN, I would have forced anyone who wanted to keep their reservation after they honored the original price to sign a binding agreement that they couldn't sell their vehicle for 6 months after taking delivery or they lose their pre-March 1 pricing.

Because, if I'm RIVIAN, I'm losing 1.6 Billion per quarter trying to usher in a new era of environmentally conscious adventure seeking and if I CAN'T make any profit - your ASS that isn't doing any of that and is just trying to make a quick buck shouldn't either.

But then again, I'm just a SASSquatch on the lam from humanity so what do I know...

I agree with all of it, except that Rivian’s vehicles are not environmentally friendly. They use a ton of power, use plastic to be vegan friendly and are extremely heavy which will help deteriorate our roads even faster.
That being said, besides the people selling because they experience too many problems (might as well pass those down to the next owner), there should be a clause preventing resell for pre March pre order holders.

 

[SASSquatch]

I agree with all of it, except that Rivian’s vehicles are not environmentally friendly. They use a ton of power, use plastic to be vegan friendly and are extremely heavy which will help deteriorate our roads even faster.
That being said, besides the people selling because they experience too many problems (might as well pass those down to the next owner), there should be a clause preventing resell for pre March pre order holders.

In my defense, I did say conscious not friendly - and the extent of environmental friendliness is in large part based on the owner. You can chose to get your power from clean energy providers or from solar.

Everything is also relative - next to the extremely inefficient gas guzzling trucks that an R1T would supplant, it is a much more friendlier option.

Regarding weight, Full Size pickups are classified as such as long as they have a GVWR under 8,500 pounds and the R1T is certainly under that. There are a lot of heavy vehicles on the road and I doubt the RIVIAN is really making a dent in the road deterioration equation.

Where RIVIAN, and every other EV have a lot of room to make up is regarding tires. EV's without question, go through tires faster because of the load rating. Tires are not environmentally friendly and we need a better solution for materials, sourcing, and manufacturing.

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