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skyote

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Lmirafuente

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Thanks for sharing this...it is very interesting. Not sure how to take this news.
 

electruck

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Could be any number of reasons behind this. Top talent is always in high demand. Tesla also has/does experience high turnover, supposedly because Musk pushes his people so hard. No doubt there is quite a bit of pressure within Rivian at this stage of the game - there was a clip in their latest video with an employee describing things as intense IIRC.
 

Pherdnut

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I would love to work at a company like this. Scaringe is right in that most recent video. Some friction is good. I don't know much about Bell but Apple hasn't always been a meritocracy.
 

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Coast2Coast

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I doubt it was his "BHAG" comment since The Climb was all about hyping Rivian and calling the Rivian vehicles "BHAGs" fit right in. More likely are creative and technical differences of opinion or frequent travels between the West Coast and Mid-West or another "BHAG" offer we don't know about or any number of other possibilities. As far as we know, defections are running strongly in Rivian's favor - folks are defecting to Rivian rather than vice versa and that's likely to continue with the various new models under development.
 

Lmirafuente

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All great comments...

For now it is only one data point. If it become a recurring situation is when to start worrying.

It will be interesting who will replace him.
 

Pherdnut

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It occurs to me that the one date that keeps slipping is a car configuration feature on the website. No idea if that was his responsibility. Of course Rivian really doesn't seem to like to reveal anything until it's a sure-thing so it might just be natural that they keep putting that off.

Having kept an eye on their job boards, it might also just be a restructuring thing. They're growing fast and I think a lot more specific departments are starting coalesce. His role may have simply been a bit too broad, or they actually brought him in to lay a more structured foundation for the app/code side of things and the job is done

Super-long-shot but I sure would like to get my hands on their UI if they're using web technology. There's no good excuse for these shoddy response times in automobile touchscreens.
 

Kickaha

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It occurs to me that the one date that keeps slipping is a car configuration feature on the website.
I have been in product management in the tech industry for more than 20 years - there is one immutable fact I have observed. Schedules always move and they move out, not in! (a little tongue in cheek there)

But seriously, I am not surprised nor concerned about this slipping. At this point in development, I am sure the Product Management and Engineering teams are locking down what can be delivered at First Build so they can create the configurator. For a configurator, its just a web page with a bunch of drop downs and linked to your reservation number. That is much easier to knock out in a few weeks than all the different hardware and software systems of the vehicle itself.

The configurator would be so far below the direct line of sight for the CTO, he may have not even be aware of the commit date. Probably much more in the arena for manufacturing operations or product management.
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