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Roof Options - What is your preference?

electruck

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I'm really still waiting for news on the metal roof....
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skyote

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I'm really still waiting for news on the metal roof....
I hope the configurator has details on the fixed roof, but am leaning glass at this point. I was concerned with the TX summer heat, but talked to a few local Tesla owner buddies & they told me not to worry about it at all; a couple shared the same concerns prior to ownership, but said it's a complete non-issue.
 
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JeremyMKE

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I wonder if there are some published studies on thermal conductivity for photo-chromatic glass vs steel or aluminum roof? So many variables, but I am starting to not be concerned....
 

skyote

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I wonder if there are some published studies on thermal conductivity for photo-chromatic glass vs steel or aluminum roof? So many variables, but I am starting to not be concerned....
I'm not concerned anymore, but would love to see a real world comaprison. Same exterior & interior colors sitting side by side in direct sun, only difference is roof options, and temp readings in each over a period of time.
 

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Interesting. So I wonder, will the panoramic glass be the ONLY roof option initially? Or will the electrochromic be offered as a higher cost option?
 
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JeremyMKE

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Interesting. So I wonder, will the panoramic glass be the ONLY roof option initially? Or will the electrochromic be offered as a higher cost option?
Excited for monday
 

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Interesting. So I wonder, will the panoramic glass be the ONLY roof option initially? Or will the electrochromic be offered as a higher cost option?
I think RJ didn't want the electrochromic roof to be the Rivian equivalent of the Falcon Wing doors on the Model X.
Getting the doors (mostly) right caused long delays and added unnecessary cost and complexity.
 

skyote

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I didn't get a screenshot of the chat, but did copy/paste the answer to whether the panoramic glass roof in the Launch was the electrochromic. Here is the answer word for word (bold is my emphasis):

  • "It's not electrochromic option at this time, but the transparency does adjust based on sunlight levels!"
 

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I didn't get a screenshot of the chat, but did copy/paste the answer to whether the panoramic glass roof in the Launch was the electrochromic. Here is the answer word for word (bold is my emphasis):

  • "It's not electrochromic option at this time, but the transparency does adjust based on sunlight levels!"
Basically transition lenses style, not bad.
 

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electruck

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I didn't get a screenshot of the chat, but did copy/paste the answer to whether the panoramic glass roof in the Launch was the electrochromic. Here is the answer word for word (bold is my emphasis):

  • "It's not electrochromic option at this time, but the transparency does adjust based on sunlight levels!"
I think I like the photochromic option better because the electrochromic on the show vehicles had a blue tint that I wasn't fond of and I prefer the automatic adjustment with light levels (don't know for sure the electrochromic wouldn't do that but I got the impression it was a manual adjustment).
 

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I was torn on the electrochromatic because it felt like a big bump in cost for us. Happy with the panoramic idea after all you fine folks have done the digging with Rivian and shared Tesla roof experiences. So thanks y’all!
 

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The Launch edition is pretty close to what we were considering except for the glass roof. I've never owned a glass roof before, so I acknowledge that I don't have direct experience on which to base my unease.

I've done a few searches online, and haven't run across too much information about the pros and cons of a glass roof. Mostly the pros seem to be related to a wow factor, and the cons are glass is heavier -- leading to less range -- and the interior gets hot.

There have been a lot of posts in the past few days, and I may not have read them all; it seems that on this forum too there is mixed experience with a glass roof. Some good, some bad.

Things that give me pause about the glass roof have been expressed in other posts:

Temperature - I live in a place where it gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter. A lot of insulation works by trapping fixed air between two surfaces because air is a poor thermal conductor. Though I don't know for sure, I think that a typical metal roof has at least something like this because of the metal exterior and fabric interior. A glass roof, on the other hand, isn't like double-paned windows in your house, and so there is a direct conductive path between the exterior and interior surfaces, right? So it seems that alone -- even ignoring the opacity differences -- means that a glass roof means a car will get hotter in summer and colder in winter.

Safety - Although it seems like most roof glass is developed in the same way as windshields (and by that I mean a layer that helps to reduce shards in the event of an impact) it still seems that in an accident there's a greater chance of dangerous debris created by a glass roof compared with a metal roof.

Weight - glass is heavier than a typical metal roof, decreasing range. Right?

Glare - my current car has a sunroof, which I love. But I don't open it when driving during the middle of the day because the sun beating down is distracting.

Cracks/ pits - windshields eventually have to be replaced because of pits, scratches, cracks, etc. While I've replaced a windshield in every car I've owned (not that many, really), I've never had to replace a metal roof. A roof doesn't see the same debris environment that a windshield does, so I can imagine that the timeline for accumulating cracks and pits in a glass roof is longer than a windshield, but is it long enough to be equivalent for a 10-15 yr lifetime of the car? One of the advantages of an EV is the lower maintenance compared with an ICE, and I'd rather not counteract that, at least in part, by having a glass roof that needs to be replaced every few years when a metal roof would last the whole time.

Any experience or pointers to resources on the web on these topics would be much appreciated.

And all of this can be mitigated if the Launch Edition can be had with a metal roof!
 

electruck

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The Launch edition is pretty close to what we were considering except for the glass roof. I've never owned a glass roof before, so I acknowledge that I don't have direct experience on which to base my unease.

I've done a few searches online, and haven't run across too much information about the pros and cons of a glass roof. Mostly the pros seem to be related to a wow factor, and the cons are glass is heavier -- leading to less range -- and the interior gets hot.

There have been a lot of posts in the past few days, and I may not have read them all; it seems that on this forum too there is mixed experience with a glass roof. Some good, some bad.

Things that give me pause about the glass roof have been expressed in other posts:

Temperature - I live in a place where it gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter. A lot of insulation works by trapping fixed air between two surfaces because air is a poor thermal conductor. Though I don't know for sure, I think that a typical metal roof has at least something like this because of the metal exterior and fabric interior. A glass roof, on the other hand, isn't like double-paned windows in your house, and so there is a direct conductive path between the exterior and interior surfaces, right? So it seems that alone -- even ignoring the opacity differences -- means that a glass roof means a car will get hotter in summer and colder in winter.

Safety - Although it seems like most roof glass is developed in the same way as windshields (and by that I mean a layer that helps to reduce shards in the event of an impact) it still seems that in an accident there's a greater chance of dangerous debris created by a glass roof compared with a metal roof.

Weight - glass is heavier than a typical metal roof, decreasing range. Right?

Glare - my current car has a sunroof, which I love. But I don't open it when driving during the middle of the day because the sun beating down is distracting.

Cracks/ pits - windshields eventually have to be replaced because of pits, scratches, cracks, etc. While I've replaced a windshield in every car I've owned (not that many, really), I've never had to replace a metal roof. A roof doesn't see the same debris environment that a windshield does, so I can imagine that the timeline for accumulating cracks and pits in a glass roof is longer than a windshield, but is it long enough to be equivalent for a 10-15 yr lifetime of the car? One of the advantages of an EV is the lower maintenance compared with an ICE, and I'd rather not counteract that, at least in part, by having a glass roof that needs to be replaced every few years when a metal roof would last the whole time.

Any experience or pointers to resources on the web on these topics would be much appreciated.

And all of this can be mitigated if the Launch Edition can be had with a metal roof!
I think these are all pretty much non-issues.

Temperature - conductivity won't be an issue, it's really greenhouse effect that you would need to worry about and it sounds like they believe they have addressed this with the panoramic roof. Emme Hall has also reported that the glass roof didn't cause any temperature issues during the Rebelle Rally.

Safety - yes, the use of laminated safety glass means this isn't really an issue (check out some of the video here to see how well it survives - admittedly there is one scene with glass flying through the interior but do note that the driver's window was shattered prior to the drop test).

Weight - if the impact on range were that significant, companies like Tesla, Lucid and Rivian that are optimizing heavily to get every last bit of range would avoid it like the plague. I suspect the impact will be far less than opting for Rivian's 22" wheels.

Glare - I've questioned them on glare in the past and Rivian claims this will not be an issue. I was also told that I would be able to see for myself via a test drive sometime after the configurator goes live but before having to lock in my order.

Cracks/pits - really not an issue. In fact, glass will actually hold up better to small hail than a metal roof. My last Volvo was in fact totalled due to hail damage but the panoramic glass roof had zero damage.
 

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I didn't get a screenshot of the chat, but did copy/paste the answer to whether the panoramic glass roof in the Launch was the electrochromic. Here is the answer word for word (bold is my emphasis):

  • "It's not electrochromic option at this time, but the transparency does adjust based on sunlight levels!"
From all of my searching this is not possible without use of electrical current. I hope I'm wrong but I believe this is false information. Yes transitional eye glasses can do this but they are a very small piece of glass. Why does Rivian let this debate go so long???
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