Rivian Guide Contacted Finally! (For Real) ?

[timf]

What he *did* indicate was that all of the first batches of vehicles delivered would have the offroad package.

Do you have the offroad package selected? I'm wondering if this is the difference between people who are getting July/August dates and October/November dates.

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[Canthoney]

I had my guide conversation with Martin this afternoon. He's based out of Normal and is one of the Guides for the Western States region. (nice dude!) He's been with Rivian since October 2020. He stated that his office is colocated near the production line and that production is currently moving slowly and methodically, and will accelerate once quality can be maintained at the increased throughput. I had 12 questions for Martin, and he had about half that for me (mostly verifying options and address). I kept to my 45 minutes, which he appreciated -- one recent phone call went 2 hours and 45 minutes. In the middle of the call, after confirming my options (Launch Green, Black interior, 20" tires), he 'pushed my order into production' and my delivery target was "by the end of October".

A few things I learned and have personally not yet heard/read:
-- Crash test ratings coming 'soon' -- nothing specific, but according to him they 'far exceeded his expectations'.
-- EPA ratings have been withheld - (my impression) it seems that they are waiting on the EPA to allow them to release the data. The information will be released prior to delivery of first vehicle.
-- I asked why the Offroad package was made optional recently and whether it was associated with range (and whether ordering it would have any impact on delivery). With respect to range he categorically said 'no' -- it was due to a lot of customers indicating they had no interest in the off road package. What he *did* indicate was that all of the first batches of vehicles delivered would have the offroad package.
-- 70+ percent of reservation holders are first time EV owners. This wasn't a question of mine, but he did say that the second contact from him in about a month would be related to owning / charging an EV since most have never done so. (I've owned two EVs and we'll either skip this converation or talk about something else).
-- Wall charger: Their plan is to have the wall charger both delivered and installed (coordinated by Rivian) prior to delivery of the R1T. This was great news to me.
-- Insurance: Maybe this was out there already, but the insurance they will offer sounds like it will cover mishaps that occur offroad... he indicated that this isn't always the case wtih standard insurance companies.
-- In 4 weeks, he will begin to push out vehicle operational videos (but perhaps these will also go out to the world...?)
-- He did *not* know the exact timing of test drives in the Seattle area, but thought mid-August. Said he would get back to me on this question.
-- They will have a local "delivery specialist" team that he will coordinate with when it is time for vehicle delivery. Like a Guide, a delivery specialist will be assigned to each vehicle.
-- I've wavered on a few accessories and he said that accessories do not affect delivery timing.
-- Second set of cross rails -- I asked how I could order two sets of cross rails. He made a note and they will be updating the accessory page in the coming month to allow for that.

Cheers!

Hey, just wanted to say thank you and hamberderz for the writeup after meeting your guides. We appreciate it!

 

[bac4uw]

Do you have the offroad package selected? I'm wondering if this is the difference between people who are getting July/August dates and October/November dates.

I did select the off road package - he stated that the earliest deliveries would be vehicles that had the offroad package. I poked and prodded him with 'let me know if I can select or unselect anything to move higher up the production line'... but I only took away the two points that vehicles with offroad packages would be included first and that accessories did not change/delay vehicle prioritization.

I'm wondering if the delivery waves are due to batching of vehicles by color.

 

[sevengroove]

You can give us all false hope but let's be honest, production numbers wouldn't shut you up. All you would do is start complaining about those numbers - "only 500 in August? what a terrible company" and so on.

Also, what is this 100 July deadline that you speak of? I might have missed that commitment from Rivian.

 

[hamberderz]

Oh, one thing I had asked a while back, and finally got an answer on was that the skid plates are full load bearing. There was some posts either here or on reddit that suggested they would not be. I asked CS maybe a month ago and they said they would get back to me but never did. The Guide did yesterday with this specifically.

 

[DuckTruck]

You know, I always have too. I bet their parents were okay with it though.



I know of Country Tavern, but it's located directly East of Tyler, in Gregg County. You're correct in Sabine County being South/East of Tyler, so I'm sure you were at a different BBQ place. Lots of BBQ (and beer) in Texas.



I like your attitude. Inspiration to us all. Keep the phone charged! ?

cc84,

I'm sure you're right about parents being good with a happy, healthy newbie on 12/25. I know I would be. My sentiments came from my Mother and her 12/26 birthday.

Regarding Country Tavern, if that's around Kilgore, I'll bet it's the place. I seem to remember driving Northwest to get there, and then West toward an amazing sunset after dinner and having my client point out the High School that Earl Campbell attended in Tyler. I remember the name Kilgore sounding familiar when Friday Night Lights came out around the time of that trip. John Voight's character was Bud Kilgore, coach of the team from Odessa. Funny how the synapses fire with a little reminder.

Sorry for the detour folks. Perhaps a Rivian Guide could get me back on track. Would love to hear from Martin soon. Still 100% charged....

 

[azbill]

They said July, but guides are telling everyone by November. Lol. Whatever.

A guy in Indiana on another forum was told his delivery could be as soon as July 22 (2021), but they gave him a window into Aug/Sept.

 

[Andystroh]

Oh, one thing I had asked a while back, and finally got an answer on was that the skid plates are full load bearing. There was some posts either here or on reddit that suggested they would not be. I asked CS maybe a month ago and they said they would get back to me but never did. The Guide did yesterday with this specifically.

Do you know if this was with or without the off road upgrade? I eventually settled on the off road upgrade "expands" the coverage of the skid plate, but doesn't reinforce what's covered by default. Is that the impression you got?

 

[cc84]

cc84,

Regarding Country Tavern, if that's around Kilgore, I'll bet it's the place.

You're right again Duck. Country Tavern is right outside Kilgore, Hwy 31. I try to go there once a month. Best pork ribs I've eaten.

.....the High School that Earl Campbell attended in Tyler.

Just went by there. Used to be named John Tyler High School, but in the climate of today's world, they no longer want it associated with the ex-president. It's called Tyler High now. Like dropping John is going to make a big difference. ?

Sorry for the detour folks. Perhaps a Rivian Guide could get me back on track. Would love to hear from Martin soon. Still 100% charged....

Same here folks. Where is my guide? Sorry. Back on track now Conversation over......Thanks Duck.

 

[hamberderz]

Do you know if this was with or without the off road upgrade? I eventually settled on the off road upgrade "expands" the coverage of the skid plate, but doesn't reinforce what's covered by default. Is that the impression you got?

I didn't ask this specifically but assume it iwas with the off road upgrade.

 

[SoCal Rob]

You responded with speculation and accusation. Rivian is definitely on track to deliver more in-house developed models (3) and probably more total vehicles than Tesla could in their first year of manufacturing and you didn’t answer my two questions:

1. So, why are you trying to dispirit people despite the fact that Rivian seems to be doing well by objective measures of first year vehicle manufacturing?

2. Do you think that we will, “see the light,” and buy Tesla vehicles?

 

[SoCal Rob]

Your idolatry of Tesla and Elon Musk is clear, so I understand your perspective. You would rather see other EV makers fail, or at least be considered less-than because Tesla is your ultimate. It may be your ultimate, but different people have different requirements and Tesla simply doesn’t work for me. I’m sorry that you need validation from others, I’m sorry that you are frustrated because you aren’t getting that validation here, and I’m sorry that you find objective facts and measures to be useless. Most people, however, tend to place a lot of value on facts.

As I wrote earlier, and which you seemed to overlook…

Rivian started off with a sports car and then changed plans so, if that’s correct, it isn’t accurate to say they have been working on the R1T & R1S for 10 years.

Tesla delivered an electrified Lotus, not an entire vehicle which was developed in-house. Model S was a singular vehicle, and it was around 3 years until they delivered the Model X platform mate.

Rivian is introducing two ground-up vehicles on the R1 platform (R1T & R1S) and a commercial vehicle with the delivery van within about a year. Tesla took about 5 years to start deliveries on 3 vehicles (2 sharing a platform and a third unrelated vehicle) all developed and assembled completely in-house: Models S, X, and Y.

I don’t expect you to reply with logic and facts so there is no need to respond. If you’re going to insult open-minded people who base their decision-making on data as “sheep” then I suspect you’ll have an ever-narrowing audience here. I hope you find something constructive in this world which also makes you happy.

 

[martymande]

I am confused, are all LE orders delivered by November or just being contacted by November?

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