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Possible partnership between Rivian and other charging networks such as EA?

Hangryboy

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I was recently on Rivian's website and noticed this under charging:
Rivian R1T R1S Possible partnership between Rivian and other charging networks such as EA? Screen Shot 2021-01-01 at 8.30.50 PM

Does "integrating" mean some sort of partnership or just that the vehicles are compatible with these CCS networks?
It would be nice to have some sort of charging benefits with other networks while RAN is built out.
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ajdelange

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Gertrude Stein's view of CCS would be similar to her view on roses. The Rivian will have a CCS connector and thus will (should) charge from any CCS station. To charge a car at a CCS station generally speaking you plug the bowser into the car, wave an RFID card (issued by the network), insert your credit card, use the network's phone app etc. to authenticate yourself upon which the charger turns on the juice. The amount taken on is billed to your credit card account. But charging can be more than this. Tesla owners simply plug in. The rest is automatic. This is called "Plug and Charge". It is obviously desirable (I once watched a couple tear their Kona interior apart looking for their Circuit Electrique card) and is being rolled out. If Rivian has made arrangements with the operator of a network and you are registered with the network you will be able to plug and charge without doing anything more than a Tesla driver.

It can go even further than this. People that bought Tesla Model X last year get free charging for life. People that buy an e Mustang (or whatever it is called) get 250 kW hr (Wow!) of free charging through the EA network. It is this latter that I think Rivian is talking about when referring to partnerships with network operators. To be specific I think you will get plug and charge and some kind of a discount for at least some period of time. As much as the CCS network has improved in the recent past users of it are still going to be at a disadvantage relative to Tesla drivers. The disadvantages relate to relative paucity of fast stations and relatively high price. Rivian needs some way to ameliorate the bitterness of this pill and free or discounted charging, if only for a time, seems a good way to do that.
 

MReda

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There have been implications that they are working on something more than just compatibility, but no firm information. Since they are pretty dependent on non-Rivian CCS chargers, I'd be surprised if there wasn't more too it, but that's just speculation.
 

ajdelange

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Did you have something in mind beyond the discounted/free charging I mentioned? Are Flintstone Jelly Glasses coming back?
 

azbill

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Ford has successfully worked with EA on Plug and Charge and I have seen two videos showing it actually working. Porsche and Lucid also have indicated they will support Plug and Charge on EA (2021 models). As for me, I could care less about some free charging, I just want Plug and Charge to work on EA, ChargePoint and EVGO. To date, it appears ChargePoint and EVGO are not yet working on this, but the pressure will be on them to support it.

This is another area where Rivian is not doing good marketing. They should be telling us that vehicles will be delivered Plug and Charge capable (ISO 15118) and that they are working with companies like EA to insure it works at initial deliveries. It is not rocket science and is not something proprietary.
 

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ajdelange

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As for me, I could care less about some free charging,
In fact free charging isn't that big a deal but having to tell potential buyers that BEV costs only a little more than petrol doesn't have quite the sales pull that telling them BEVs will save them a whole bunch on fuel costs does.
 

Gshenderson

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In fact free charging isn't that big a deal but having to tell potential buyers that BEV costs only a little more than petrol doesn't have quite the sales pull that telling them BEVs will save them a whole bunch on fuel costs does.
This is how I internally “justified” buying my Tesla back in 2015. Did I really “need” a $100,000 car? No. But after the tax credit and factoring in $4,000-5000/yr savings in gas and maintenance (I was driving about 2k miles/mo and premium gas was running about $3.50/gallon at that time), I could make the economics work out. Understand, though, that this was a complete internal rationalization for an emotional decision that I’d already made. I just really wanted a Tesla! But the financial rationalization helped get the wife on board :).
 

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This is how I internally “justified” buying my Tesla back in 2015. Did I really “need” a $100,000 car? No. But after the tax credit and factoring in $4,000-5000/yr savings in gas and maintenance (I was driving about 2k miles/mo and premium gas was running about $3.50/gallon at that time), I could make the economics work out. Understand, though, that this was a complete internal rationalization for an emotional decision that I’d already made. I just really wanted a Tesla! But the financial rationalization helped get the wife on board :).
Greg, I hadn’t found this and other Rivian forums until recently. I’ve quite enjoyed exploring all of the topics and comments from future Rivianites, including many of yours. The explanation of your “internal rationalization for an emotional decision (you’d) already made” when getting your Tesla is classic. I think we all do this mental dance to justify any number of purchases, but you articulated the synaptic choreography better than anyone I’ve ever encountered. That your rationalization got your wife to join you in the dance makes it that much better. The whole explanation gave me a chuckle.

As for this thread, I’m with azbill. While it would be nice to have some free or discounted DCFC charging, it’s more important to me that the process be as simple, predictable, and reliable as possible. It would be fantastic if I could simply plug in and have any major system charge my car as it charges my card (or account). That said, as long as the process is simple to operate and fills my battery each and every time, I’ll be happy. I’ve already signed up with EA, Chargpoint, EVgo, blink and others in preparation for the R1T. EVgo and blink each sent their RFID/account card to allow the initiation of a charge. Having never used any of them, I’m guessing there will be a bit of a learning curve for each.

I had a conversation with EA this evening to confirm my account and discuss the process of charging. Of course, they assured me it is fairly easy to do. They said that if I can’t initiate a charge the first time using the data features on my cell phone, a quick call should allow them to start the charge remotely. I’ll take them at their word on that. I also took the opportunity to share with them that there are still some major gaps in their network that many have discussed within these forums. In particular, I mentioned that The Dakotas, Wyoming, and most of Montana are absent any DCFC system. The rep also acknowledged that many places, including all of West Virginia, are underserved and they welcome the input. Hopefully, many people awaiting their Rivians will let them know of areas where we’re in need of chargers going forward. While EA has occasional webinars open to us, along with a system to submit suggestions, they do take the input from users over the phone. I know I’ll be in touch with them several times in the near future to share ideas and encourage others to do the same.

Thanks again for making me laugh!
 

azbill

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Greg, I hadn’t found this and other Rivian forums until recently. I’ve quite enjoyed exploring all of the topics and comments from future Rivianites, including many of yours. The explanation of your “internal rationalization for an emotional decision (you’d) already made” when getting your Tesla is classic. I think we all do this mental dance to justify any number of purchases, but you articulated the synaptic choreography better than anyone I’ve ever encountered. That your rationalization got your wife to join you in the dance makes it that much better. The whole explanation gave me a chuckle.

As for this thread, I’m with azbill. While it would be nice to have some free or discounted DCFC charging, it’s more important to me that the process be as simple, predictable, and reliable as possible. It would be fantastic if I could simply plug in and have any major system charge my car as it charges my card (or account). That said, as long as the process is simple to operate and fills my battery each and every time, I’ll be happy. I’ve already signed up with EA, Chargpoint, EVgo, blink and others in preparation for the R1T. EVgo and blink each sent their RFID/account card to allow the initiation of a charge. Having never used any of them, I’m guessing there will be a bit of a learning curve for each.

I had a conversation with EA this evening to confirm my account and discuss the process of charging. Of course, they assured me it is fairly easy to do. They said that if I can’t initiate a charge the first time using the data features on my cell phone, a quick call should allow them to start the charge remotely. I’ll take them at their word on that. I also took the opportunity to share with them that there are still some major gaps in their network that many have discussed within these forums. In particular, I mentioned that The Dakotas, Wyoming, and most of Montana are absent any DCFC system. The rep also acknowledged that many places, including all of West Virginia, are underserved and they welcome the input. Hopefully, many people awaiting their Rivians will let them know of areas where we’re in need of chargers going forward. While EA has occasional webinars open to us, along with a system to submit suggestions, they do take the input from users over the phone. I know I’ll be in touch with them several times in the near future to share ideas and encourage others to do the same.

Thanks again for making me laugh!
I have all of those accounts currently, plus a couple of more. All of them except EA provide an RFID card and those work very easily. They also have apps that can be used to start a charge. I find that the RFID card is usually easier, no need to log into an app or navigate to the station, just swipe the card by the reader and the charger starts. I have had maybe one time on ChargePoint and one time on EVGO where the RFID card did not work on the first try.

EA actually is the opposite, the app works better than using a credit card or the RFID, which needs Apple Wallet (I am sure Android has something similar). I have my EA account in the Apple Wallet, but the RFID never seems to read it correctly, and before they had the app I found that using credit cards was also unreliable, the card readers were not good. The Apple Wallet RFID would be a good back for the case where you are at a station without good cell phone reception. So far I have not seen that case, but have seen reports of it on Plugshare.

But in the end, Plug and Charge will eliminate all of those issues, I would just need to register my vehicles in the appropriate accounts that support it. Plug and Charge will only work on CCS, not on L2 chargers, but use of those is more rare for long distance travel, except maybe at a hotel overnight.
 

ajdelange

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...nice to have some free or discounted DCFC charging, it’s more important to me that the process be as simple, predictable, and reliable as possible.
This is the genius of Elon Musk. He gave his early customers all those (yes, charging was free in the early days - for all buyers) and I suspect that this was as much responsible for the growth of the BEV industry as the lithium ion battery and high voltage FET. In the same way I feel the SC network gives Tesla a tremendous marketing advantage I think that not being a part of it puts other OEMs at a disadvantage. Clearly, the more closely the competition matches the SC network the less that disadvantage becomes. If anyone realizes this Rivian should and that's why I am most interested in seeing what actually rolls out this summer.
 

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Are Flintstone Jelly Glasses coming back?
I look forward to the return of Flinstone Jelly Glasses. I have a collection of glasses, that I got from my grandmother, with pictures of a camel, a pig and a rooster that I think were given away at gas stations.
 

MTrivianR1T

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Did you have something in mind beyond the discounted/free charging I mentioned? Are Flintstone Jelly Glasses coming back?
OMG You’re giving away your age on this comment. I too remember the Flintstone jelly glasses and other giveaways.
 

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Gertrude Stein's view of CCS would be similar to her view on roses. The Rivian will have a CCS connector and thus will (should) charge from any CCS station. To charge a car at a CCS station generally speaking you plug the bowser into the car, wave an RFID card (issued by the network), insert your credit card, use the network's phone app etc. to authenticate yourself upon which the charger turns on the juice. The amount taken on is billed to your credit card account. But charging can be more than this. Tesla owners simply plug in. The rest is automatic. This is called "Plug and Charge". It is obviously desirable (I once watched a couple tear their Kona interior apart looking for their Circuit Electrique card) and is being rolled out. If Rivian has made arrangements with the operator of a network and you are registered with the network you will be able to plug and charge without doing anything more than a Tesla driver.

It can go even further than this. People that bought Tesla Model X last year get free charging for life. People that buy an e Mustang (or whatever it is called) get 250 kW hr (Wow!) of free charging through the EA network. It is this latter that I think Rivian is talking about when referring to partnerships with network operators. To be specific I think you will get plug and charge and some kind of a discount for at least some period of time. As much as the CCS network has improved in the recent past users of it are still going to be at a disadvantage relative to Tesla drivers. The disadvantages relate to relative paucity of fast stations and relatively high price. Rivian needs some way to ameliorate the bitterness of this pill and free or discounted charging, if only for a time, seems a good way to do that.
Tesla has great marketing, trades at a P/E over 1300 and gets 80% of their profits from other car companies. The party can’t last forever for Tesla
 

ajdelange

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Is this comment supposed to relate somehow to what was quoted?
 

jjwolf120

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Tesla has great marketing, trades at a P/E over 1300 and gets 80% of their profits from other car companies. The party can’t last forever for Tesla
Just party like it is 1999.
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