Rivian just raised RAN pricing 47% over President’s Day weekend 2025

[captainjp]

But they’re less or no more reliable than Superchargers, less available, in worse spots than EA, and more expensive. None of your reasons make sense. At least on my road trips on the West Coast, the legacy networks are everywhere and now cost less than RAN.

By what amount do these legacy networks “cost less”?

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[shap]

For me, ICE appeals much more to me on road trips due to the overall convenience and time saved. Much more so than cost reasons.

I hope charging speeds increase signficantly in the years to come.

100% agree - I can tolerate some additional time spent on charging, but on long trips it becomes a problem. It is convenient to stop and eat where I like and not at junk food places with nearby chargers. I much more enjoy my X5 on road trips with it ADAS with hands-free jam assist, than Rivian Driver+.

As for charging speeds - I do not see a breakthrough happening soon. The best I see is 800V architecture, but then you have a problem with chargers that can support it. That is why you do not see many cars with 800v architecture.

Also, if more cars will use 800V and will draw 350-500kw from chargers, our current infrastructure will not be able to support it. From power generation to power distribution - all parts will need a significant upgrade.

 

[sacramentoelectric]

By what amount do these legacy networks “cost less”?

Depends on the location and if you have a membership. 35-45% give or take.

 

[RealBillNye]

Very soon more people will understand that for road trips the best car is ICE...

If you can level 2 charge at your destination it almost always still ends up cheaper to drive an EV. Assuming a 22mpg truck equivalent at $4/gall, a home energy rate of 11 cents/kwhr at home, 55 cents at level 3 chargers, a road trip would have to be more than 1200 miles each way to reach cost parity ICE vs EV. And that's ignoring the higher per mile maintenance costs of ICE.

 

[shap]

If you can level 2 charge at your destination it almost always still ends up cheaper to drive an EV. Assuming a 22mpg truck equivalent at $4/gall, a home energy rate of 11 cents/kwhr at home, 55 cents at level 3 chargers, a road trip would have to be more than 1200 miles each way to reach cost parity ICE vs EV. And that's ignoring the higher per mile maintenance costs of ICE.

The prices are very different between states. In TX, a gallon is $2.5, and electricity is $0.14 (in Austin). I did the comparison many times I did a road trip with R1T and it never was cheaper than a 20mpg ICE car. Austin to CO and back. It is approximately 15-20% more. If you find a hotel with free charging, and then have free charging in your destination - sure, it will be cheaper. Otherwise, you will pay the premium. Also, add 20% of time wasted charging in locations where you usually have only junk food. Just not worth the hassle IMHO

 

[TomServo2112]

The prices are very different between states. In TX, a gallon is $2.5, and electricity is $0.14 (in Austin). I did the comparison many times I did a road trip with R1T and it never was cheaper than a 20mpg ICE car. Austin to CO and back. It is approximately 15-20% more. If you find a hotel with free charging, and then have free charging in your destination - sure, it will be cheaper. Otherwise, you will pay the premium. Also, add 20% of time wasted charging in locations where you usually have only junk food. Just not worth the hassle IMHO

The operational costs include things like oil changes, tuneups, brake pad changes, all of which also take your time and money for ICE but are non-existent (or almost non-existent for brake pads), and can be calculated into the price per mile. I save way more time charging at home than I spend waiting for chargers on road trips, and that’s long before I factor in savings for all the other ICE maintenance that EVs avoid. I get why sometimes ICE are a low-hanging fruit attraction, but after going 100% EV a year ago and having driven over 35k total miles since, I’d never go back to all those other operational costs combined just to avoid an extra 30 minutes at a refueling stop a couple of times per trip, all while also saving thousands of dollars per year.

if EVs came first and some entity was trying to convince the public that a brand new tech- ICE - is the way to go and all you have to do is take it into the shop a few times a year for all this additional maintenance, deal with oil leaks, transmission and differential fluid changes, tune-ups, while fuel will on average cost more per mile, but wait- you’ll save 50-75% of time on your road trip because that one variable, time-to-refuel, happens to be faster, but nope, you can’t do it at home, ICE would never get off the ground.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

The operational costs include things like oil changes, tuneups, brake pad changes, all of which also take your time and money for ICE but are non-existent (or almost non-existent for brake pads), and can be calculated into the price per mile. I save way more time charging at home than I spend waiting for chargers on road trips, and that’s long before I factor in savings for all the other ICE maintenance that EVs avoid. I get why sometimes ICE are a low-hanging fruit attraction, but after going 100% EV a year ago and having driven over 35k total miles since, I’d never go back to all those other operational costs combined just to avoid an extra 30 minutes at a refueling stop a couple of times per trip, all while also saving thousands of dollars per year.

if EVs came first and some entity was trying to convince the public that a brand new tech- ICE - is the way to go and all you have to do is take it into the shop a few times a year for all this additional maintenance, deal with oil leaks, transmission and differential fluid changes, tune-ups, while fuel will on average cost more per mile, but wait- you’ll save 50-75% of time on your road trip because that one variable, time-to-refuel, happens to be faster, but nope, you can’t do it at home, ICE would never get off the ground.

And if the car industry had started with affordable EVs instead of a "hi-tech" luxury money-grab opportunity... Would we still be having arguments over false pretense that EVs are only for liberal elites? Sigh. Math is just math, regardless of personal values.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

At this rate I'm wishing we could charge and drive at the same time.

Where I put a high powered generator in the back of my R1T with a small gas tank.

 

[atebit]

At this rate I'm wishing we could charge and drive at the same time.

Where I put a high powered generator in the back of my R1T with a small gas tank.

Scout Already Did It. Err…Will Do It.

 

[RealBillNye]

The prices are very different between states. In TX, a gallon is $2.5, and electricity is $0.14 (in Austin). I did the comparison many times I did a road trip with R1T and it never was cheaper than a 20mpg ICE car. Austin to CO and back. It is approximately 15-20% more. If you find a hotel with free charging, and then have free charging in your destination - sure, it will be cheaper. Otherwise, you will pay the premium. Also, add 20% of time wasted charging in locations where you usually have only junk food. Just not worth the hassle IMHO

I don't know where chargers are located in TX, but at least in CO, Oregon, and Washington I have never struggled to get free charging at my destination. There is usually some public works building that has free charging if I can't plug into a friend's house.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

That sucks but sounds about right. At .36 there is now a chance they were profitable. .54 is a bit on the expensive side, but much more similar to other networks. I'll bet they're going to introduce a membership program.

Sad, but not unreasonable. DC charging infrastructure is EXPENSIVE to run and they need to be profitable. .36 will not get them profit.

All charging stations should have convenience stores, like gas stations, to offset the price.

 

[captainjp]

Depends on the location and if you have a membership. 35-45% give or take.

You’d have to factor in the membership cost as well though. No?

 

[sacramentoelectric]

You’d have to factor in the membership cost as well though. No?

It depends how much you charge. You can easily do the math or ask ChatGPT to do it for you but I’ll give you an example. The RAN in Firegaugh on the I5 costs 0.63 per kWh. The EA charger in the same lot is 0.56 per kWh without a membership and 0.42 with a membership that costs $7.

So, for a 100kWh charge…
$63 at RAN
$56 at EA
11% cheaper at EA.

Or $42 at EA with a membership which is 33% cheaper. Add the $7 and you’re still %12 cheaper than RAN. If you are driving a long distance, you’re going to charge more than once. Amortize the membership cost over how much charging you do in a month. However you slice it, RAN isn’t competitive. At least in California, Electrify America chargers probably outnumber Rivian chargers 20 to one and Tesla chargers probably outnumber Rivian chargers 50 to one. I don’t see how a membership is going to solve the Rivian pricing issue since they have such a small number of chargers available.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

I am willing to tolerate more expensive rates for fast and reliable charging, especially when that vendor isn't Tesla.

Prices will naturally come down when chargers are ubiquitous.

Except we need more power plants. Prices dropping is likely a decade out and prices will increase quite a bit by then.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

Very soon more people will understand that for road trips the best car is ICE...

Yep. Nothing beats an ICE vehicle for convenience and price, especially for longer trips.

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