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BWillR1T

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Thanks for posting @kanundrum. I am not an expert on assembly lines but nice to see some robots in their final location. Anyone more experienced able to decipher if that appears to be a truck in legit production or a staged photo? Maybe a pre-production model testing the robots?

Also, in the photo with RJ that gooseneck hinge on the tailgate looks like it is performing magic to extend the bed that far. Is there a thread yet on bed uses / extenders? Definitely going to miss the 180 degree function as at 6’-1” (me, not the bed) it will still be a little hard to reach items from the tailgate end vs. just reaching over the side. I would have been happier with a manual tailgate that still did 180 degrees than auto at 90.
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cohall

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I would have been happier with a manual tailgate that still did 180 degrees than auto at 90.
Just FYI, it's neither 180 degree, nor is it automatic/powered.

It's been reduced to a plain old lame tailgate now. One of my biggest letdowns from what they originally said we'd be getting.
 

CommodoreAmiga

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Just FYI, it's neither 180 degree, nor is it automatic/powered.

It's been reduced to a plain old lame tailgate now. One of my biggest letdowns from what they originally said we'd be getting.
I believe it is electronic opening... You just have to manually close it.
 

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Just FYI, it's neither 180 degree, nor is it automatic/powered.

It's been reduced to a plain old lame tailgate now. One of my biggest letdowns from what they originally said we'd be getting.
I concur - it's my biggest letdown. Especially considering how much of a loooooongboi it seems to be. Seriously, look how far it sticks out.

I hope there is a retrofit kit or something in the future.
 

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This morning, on my way home from picking up a rental car for a family road trip to my favorite place, I finally saw a RIVIAN on the road! My family has been looking for a long time to see a Rivian as we drive from LA to San Clemente frequently, and the Rivian location in Irvine is in between those locations... Lots of sightings down there.

I'm a day one R1S reservation holder #1836! I sold my car prematurely this year, thinking I could just rent or use Turo until my R1S delivery, but with the seemingly shortage of everything these days, rental prices have skyrocketed, so just last week I almost pulled the trigger on a new Sonata to tide me over as I need to travel again for work throughout SoCal, and LV. 0% interest, low depreciation. But, I decided against it, and to just to rent until we get a better idea of R1S deliveries since we're so close to learning factual data on deliveries.

Long story short, I rented a car today to road trip to Mammoth, and on the drive home to pack, I saw this R1T on Brand Blvd in Glendale, CA. After seeing the R1Ton the road up-close, I'm happy to have decided to just rent, and not buy another placeholder car until the R1S delivers! Taking my family up the 395 will be spectacular, especially after the wait of nearly 3 years from deposit! We're going back to Mammoth to visit with friends from Davis for Thanksgiving, maybe I will get lucky, and be driving my new R1S up the 395...

Anyone know what the Metal Solo Cups on the tires are for?
 

Matty J

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Regards tailgate release, they told me it has a couple releases. I specifically wanted to know if I could still release the tailgate / access items in the bed in the event the automatic tonneau cover fails to open. Their CS response:

“You'll be able to drop the tailgate and crawl inside (under the tonneau cover) to retrieve your gear if needed. The R1T tailgate opens manually by hitting the tailgate release button on the bed rail or key fob. Then the latches release and dampers connected to the tailgate lower it in a controlled fashion.”
 

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As to the first picture, it looks like these guys are programing the robot welders.

The tailgate, myself like many is disappointed in that I think they gave up to easy on the 180-degree tailgate, but it is what it is. Here is the explanation I got from Rivian CS back in Dec. 2020 as to what it sticks out. It's a Gooseneck hinge.

"Thanks for reaching out, and for considering the R1T! While I agree that the 180-degree tailgate was a great concept, it is not a feature that will be offered on production vehicles. To deliver the R1T and R1S as quickly as possible, we’ve simplified our vehicle offerings. The 180-degree tailgate introduced substantial cost and complexity that we didn't feel created enough customer value. In the absence of that feature, we developed a gooseneck hinge system that slides out as the tailgate lowers, extending the bed floor to 84 inches with the tailgate down. This helped us to create a sturdier tailgate which allows for additional usable bed space!"
 

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I will take the increased bed space over the 180-degree or power tailgate any day.
Why do you imply those are mutually exclusive?
 

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Why do you imply those are mutually exclusive?
I recalling seeing it setup like this from the demos in 2018. It was a looongboi then that just happened to fold down to access junk in the trunk better.

I view this as more of an issue related quality/reliability, patent (potentially with GM), or cost cutting. What they have gone to doesn't necessarily add anything. In fact, it's objectively worse than the Ram split tailgate, the GM multi-pro tailgate, or the pretty-meh-but-at-least-there-is-something Ford tailgate stepperoo.
 

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I'm 6'4" and with a standard style tailgate down it is still difficult to reach items in the bed. With this gooseneck extra long tailgate it's going to be worse. Would have at least liked a step since the 180 version was cancelled.
 

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I'm 6'4" and with a standard style tailgate down it is still difficult to reach items in the bed. With this gooseneck extra long tailgate it's going to be worse. Would have at least liked a step since the 180 version was cancelled.
aren’t people using the gear tunnel as a step?
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