KiloV
Well-Known Member
Amen, brother. I don't really get the histrionics either. Rivian originally indicated a start to customer vehicle production in December 2020, but were delayed due to the pandemic until September 2021. I think that's actually pretty good for a startup auto manufacturer - only 9 months behind schedule due to the pandemic. They were clear that it would take months after the first customer vehicles rolled off the line to ramp up to delivering trucks at scale. Rivian also was clear that multiple factors (configuration, customer location, service network status) would impact the delivery schedule. Rivian never promised that they would do any better than they have.I must be one of the few that is somewhat surprised (though also not surprised) that so many are up in arms about the last 24 hours. Things are largely still on track with their long-standing guidance, just a couple extra months to complete LE R1S, but it looks like most are still scheduled to be delivered by end of Spring as projected.
Rivian has been saying for months that LE would be delivered in Spring 2022, and that is basically what they are doing (looks entirely true for R1T and a couple months extra for R1S which is a rounding error). While many may have assumed they might receive their vehicle sooner than they are, they never actually said you would (outside of a handful test mules on guide calls, which were never actually real and regardless have nothing to do with the whole), and the S1 clearly said non-employees wouldn't receive it this year. So, if you're being honest with yourself, virtually nobody had any reason to believe they were getting a vehicle materially earlier than the window they were just provided based on actual communications from Rivian (again, other than the handful of test mules). You can scream and point fingers all you want, but that's the truth.
You can make the case that Rivian could have managed expectations better, and maybe they could have and maybe they couldn't, but the fact remains that ultimately people are also responsible for their own expectations. That being said, I expect very few will actually admit it.
I thought yesterday's news was positive and right in line with what expectations should have been. I know for me (early summer R1S) it was spot on with what I've assumed.
Many people have projected their own expectations onto the delivery schedule, but Rivian's actions are pretty much right in line with what they laid out in the S1. The only real cause for complaint here is that we, the customers, have had to pick through the S1 for guidance that Rivian should have been able to share with us directly.
There is also no reason to yell about Rivian's practice of delivering trucks to employees and affiliates first. Those folks are beta testers for the rest of us. We should be thanking them. And they are paying customers just like us. Everybody relax.
I pre-ordered a LE R1T (El Cap, Black Mountain, 20"AT) on 11/26/2018. I'm scheduled for a Mar-Apr 2022 delivery window. I'm okay with that.
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