TFL snubbed by Rivian: video

[crashmtb]

Yeah, and it sucks shouldn't be looked at as professional.

Yep. An “what? Can’t hear you sorry my desk is driving into a tunnel” is more professIonal than nothing.

that said I’m sure there’s more to the story.

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[Electric Tiger]

To “ghost” someone, there has to have been a relationship of some sort prior to the ghosting. If TFL and Rivian had been in discussions of TFL reviewing the R1T and Rivian just stopped responding, then bad on Rivian. But it sounds like that conversation never started, so no ghosting.

I like TFL, but they are not a large car magazine or TV show, they are small potatoes in the grand scheme of car news outlets. I think TFL is a little full of themselves in this case.

 

[Autolycus]

I'm not a big car guy. I have no idea who TFL is. I'm sorry they're frustrated about not being invited to the media event, but I can't say I'm personally disappointed. I also don't think anything more should be read into this situation than simply: They weren't invited. I don't think it's a bad decision by Rivian. I don't think it's a conspiracy to prevent negative comments. I think Rivian just didn't invite them.

As a non-car guy, Motor Trend absolutely has more weight to me than a random Youtuber, no matter what MT's reputation might be with respect to favorable coverage. Guess what, you can still start to pick out which cars they like better, no matter how slanted toward positive they are.

 

[sevengroove]

Isn’t it obvious? Rivian is protecting TFL. If the TFL folks thought a Silverado version of the Raptor/TRX was “first of its kind” and “game changing,” Rivian knew TFL’s heads would explode the moment they drove an R1T. ?

This "gamechanger" video is what introduced me to TFL, and I gotta say it wasn't a great first impression for me.

 

[thrill]

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...rivian-tomorrow-at-1pm.2065/page-4#post-58432

They aren't hiding anything. Quite a few reviews will be posted when embargo lifts next week, They don't have to indulge every youtube enthusiast under the sun.

100x THIS. TFL, and many other amateur operations, frequently shows their amateurishness. They don't bother to research their subject before espousing their "expertise", making up numbers to keep their chitter chatter flowing, seeming to think they are all late night radio jocks that have to keep the airwaves full. Far too few of them seem to bother to realize they can actually prepare and present information by, gasp, finding out all the details and editing their material before presenting it.

 

[paariv]

I could not care less whether someone’s favorite YouTube channel got invited to a pre-launch event. There are limited slots and they didn’t get one, and it means nothing more than that.

Im not a truck guy and I’d never heard of them before their idiotic “game-changer” video promo stunt. That they pulled that crap makes me think very poorly of them as a reliable source in general, and makes me think their whining is more of a tactic to boost engagement than anything legitimate.

in summary: they’re making a big stink about something and you all are falling for it because you like them, but it’s meaningless in the grand scheme of the launch. Let’s wait until we see who reviewed the truck and what they say next week before jumping to conclusions.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

Yeah, and it sucks shouldn't be looked at as professional.

Where out of my busy week's schedule should I find the time to personally reply to every one of the 40+ recruiters that contact me?

No, ignoring things you aren't interested in shouldn't be considered as not professional.

 

[Blueassassin]

click bait to get views that's all I'm going to say. I Like TFL and have watched many of their videos but they are armatures and yes they didn't get the invite I'm sure there are a lot of other people that didn't as well. I would rather see our Rivian stories boys get an invite and review the truck before these guys buy I don't see a crying for clicks video title like this from them.

 

[SANZC02]

i posted a tweet on social media at rivian and RJ suggesting this was a dumb idea and they should resolve it, if more people do that maybe they'll fix it.

The fact that professionals ghost people is just not professional. I mean fine, if you think a channel with 350K subscribers is 'too small' for early release great, let them know that you are only targeting x size for first go round, but of all the channels I've found on youtube who do car reviews, theirs is the one most tuned for their target market.

Not sure I agree that ghosting is not responding to an unsolicited email. Ghosting is to suddenly stop responding to someone you have had some sort of relationship with. Based on your definition, I ghost 20-50 people a day at work and probably 10 to 20 at home with all of the emails I get from various places.

 

[paariv]

Not sure I agree that ghosting is not responding to an unsolicited email. Ghosting is to suddenly stop responding to someone you have had some sort of relationship with. Based on your definition, I ghost 20-50 people a day at work and probably 10 to 20 at home with all of the emails I get from various places.

100%. I get reams of unsolicited sales emails that I ignore, many of which escalate to "I haven't heard from you" if I don't respond. I'm not gonna, and the reason you didn't hear from me is that we have no relationship; I didn't want or ask to talk to you and have never engaged. That's not ghosting.

What I will do is give prompt, direct feedback to every person I interview for a job but ultimately pass on, as well as anyone pitching me something (in a meeting I attended and agreed to) that I decide not to buy.

 

[cc84]

I would have created an automated response, or reply with the below message. If Rivian would at a minimum, acknowledge an email was received, then no response would tell me everything I needed to know. Rivian may have done that, I don't know. I'm looking at this from how I would like to be treated. Prior to this forum, I had not heard of TFL, or Motor Trend, and I certainly had no idea people climbed rocks for fun. This is an interesting forum. I've learned a lot and may try some of these ideas.

"Currently, we have filled all slots for testing and reviews. Our main focus now is production and making sure our vehicles are delivered, as promised, on time. Thank you for your interest....."

 

[wicked2112]

I don’t think they are hiding anything but if you believe TFL should have been given an invite, it makes that question easy to raise.

Edited to be more accurate

The last time I checked, RIVIAN decides on the who, what and where when it comes to their vehicles.

 

[Tatnai]

The last time I checked, RIVIAN decides on the who, what and where when it comes to their vehicles.

Absolutely. And people form their opinions based on those decisions, which is their right to do.

I don't have a horse in this fight. I only heard of TFL through a post on this forum. It seems some people do value their opinion, as amateur as it may be. Since that number of people is small, Rivian probably doesn't give a shit. If Rivian snubbed motor trend, it would again be 100 percent their right and decision to do so, and again people would have their right to form opinions about those decisions. Just the way it goes.

PS our R1S configs store almost identical, that's a nice look

 

[Speedrye]

If Rivian didn't invite someone like Car and Driver, I'd worry more. I'm a car guy and have never heard of TFL before, so I'm not too concerned that they got snubbed and now have their panties in a twist.

I'll be curious to find out next week which publications did get invited though.

 

[jplblue]

Just wanted to add that I think Tom from insideEVs and Nikki from Transport Evolved, both of whom were invited to the press drive, are straight shooters from what I can tell. I don't think they'd hide any flaws to stay in RIvian's good graces. Implications otherwise, by TFL and some here, are unwarranted.

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