Rivian Deliveries Pushed to 2022

Rivian has started notifying customers that they will need to wait a bit longer to receive their vehicles.

Rivian has sent notifications that lay out delivery windows for the “Launch Edition” that range from March to September. It’s reasonable to assume that the company’s less-pricey “Adventure” and “Explore” packages will also be pushed to the second half of 2022.

While Rivian has started production of its all-electric R1T pickup, few have been delivered. The R1S SUV was expected to go into production next month, but it is not clear if that will be the case.

Rivian currently operates a single factory in Normal, Illinois and is reportedly looking for a second factory location. 

Early reviews of the R1T pickup have been strong. And investors have been supportive, as the company’s recent IPO gave it a market capitalization of $100 billion.

 

[electricjib]

And you think the deliveries of the refreshed Model S and X have gone smoothly?

In comparison. Much smoother. But apples to oranges.

This is 100% false. Rivian is delivering to customers. Get lost.

If you mean their employees or close company friends then yes. They're delivering to customers. Everyone buying it is technically a customer. I'm not sure what is offensive about what I stated. I'm a Rivian fan. I'm rooting for them, but there is nothing wrong for pointing out their current status. Personally I feel they hid a bit of where they were really at. I also think the pandemic couldn't have been at a worst time for them.

If you reserved a R1T last year they said first deliveries in January 2022 which they are doing. I prefer that they take their time and get it right.

Agreed. And I think they've done a good job taking their time and really making sure things go well. Sadly that is still happening and they're starting to miss delivery targets left and right and without a working product available (unless you work there or are basically one of the first reservations) its hard to keep pushing things out farther.

Tech is also going to pass them quickly with the money being thrown in EV's right now.

The Roadster didn’t have 40,000 orders. It was never meant to be a large scale production vehicle, there were only a few thousand of them created and that was the entire plan. It was *designed* to be a largely hand built low volume proof of concept vehicle. The R1T is a production truck. They could have done a small scale production and done it Roadster style, but they chose not to.

This isn’t their final production line… it can’t be, if it is they will never deliver 75,000 vehicles. That is the big lie.

Regardless, what my complaint is more that the communications from Rivian has been borderline deceptive. If they were telling people leading up to the IPO that they were still months away from production they would be a lot more trustworthy. But leading up to production they were telling people R1T was starting production… not beta production.


I do too. I was pretty optimistic about them prior to the IPO. Not so much now.

I think Rivian has done a great job on the marketing end to really sell you on their culture and brand image. It's probably keeping people with orders in line. I also think they've been deceptive.

 

[strider]

Maybe?

Rivian is largely at fault for misconceptions here.

In September they announce “Start of deliveries!!!” And promptly produce 1 car which goes to an employee.

In October they made another dog-and-pony show over deliveries and production startup… but delivered fewer than 50 cars and almost all of those to staff and investors.

They’ve been trickling out trucks, but they’ve been quiet about how many have gone to the general public versus internal.

I’m not saying they aren’t delivering to customers… but I will say they’ve told us they were starting deliveries previously when they were nowhere near what a normal auto company would call “Production”. So how many fake “Start of production” “First delivery” events can they have?

How many cars have gone out to the general public? In the auto industry, 1000 vehicles is typical internal consumption prior to any public sales. Giga Berlin has a bunch of cars sitting on their tarmac, by Rivian’s definition apparently it’s online?

Wow. Literally everything you said above applies to Tesla for the Roadster, S and X models (at least - I didn't follow the 3 and Y rollouts as I didn't have orders for those). They would deliver 5 cars to "Founders" which were Tesla board members and friends of Elon and Tesla would proudly proclaim "customer deliveries!!!!!" Then crickets for months. You are new here. Some of us lived through it.

Heck, they are doing it RIGHT NOW with the Refreshed Model X. Those in glass houses and all that......

 

[TrevTremaine]

In comparison. Much smoother. But apples to oranges.

I would disagree. 14 months since an order placed, little if any communication for those with orders. Numerous issues with the refreshed models coming off the line - Quality ain't job #1 at Tesla. What's with all the vehicles sitting on the test grounds? I won't call it apples to apples either but we'll have to see how Rivian does as it does ramp up production. I'll be curious to see how well built their vehicles are, especially as it grows. Early indications from independent reviewers such as TFL have been essentially glowing.

If you mean their employees or close company friends then yes. They're delivering to customers. Everyone buying it is technically a customer. I'm not sure what is offensive about what I stated. I'm a Rivian fan. I'm rooting for them, but there is nothing wrong for pointing out their current status. Personally I feel they hid a bit of where they were really at. I also think the pandemic couldn't have been at a worst time for them.

I'm on the fence on this. I agree that it's employees who are getting these models. I also think they're not true production, but rather the initial run that's going to be used to sort out production issues. I think other companies do this as well, but don't include them in "production numbers" - at least not initially. Pandemic has really hit everyone, but kudos for still working through it all as opposed to giving up.

I think Rivian has done a great job on the marketing end to really sell you on their culture and brand image. It's probably keeping people with orders in line. I also think they've been deceptive.

Same thing could be said of Tesla. How many delays have occurred with the refreshed line? I was told to expect my vehicle in December if I upgraded to the 6 seater, which I did. Crickets ever since and people who are waaaayyyyy down the line in the order process are getting their orders.



Same as you, I hope both Tesla and Rivian success. Each have their good points, but each have their issues that they seriously need to look at closely - and FIX ASAP.

 

[Ogre]

Deleted a prior reply.

I want Rivian to kick axe. Just a bit cynical about their management right now.

Hopefully I’m way off base.

 

[Merrill]

I would disagree. 14 months since an order placed, little if any communication for those with orders. Numerous issues with the refreshed models coming off the line - Quality ain't job #1 at Tesla. What's with all the vehicles sitting on the test grounds? I won't call it apples to apples either but we'll have to see how Rivian does as it does ramp up production. I'll be curious to see how well built their vehicles are, especially as it grows. Early indications from independent reviewers such as TFL have been essentially glowing.
I went to the first mile event in Sonoma in November and was very impressed with the fit and finish and build quality, hope mind ends up the same.


I'm on the fence on this. I agree that it's employees who are getting these models. I also think they're not true production, but rather the initial run that's going to be used to sort out production issues. I think other companies do this as well, but don't include them in "production numbers" - at least not initially. Pandemic has really hit everyone, but kudos for still working through it all as opposed to giving up.




Same thing could be said of Tesla. How many delays have occurred with the refreshed line? I was told to expect my vehicle in December if I upgraded to the 6 seater, which I did. Crickets ever since and people who are waaaayyyyy down the line in the order process are getting their orders.



Same as you, I hope both Tesla and Rivian success. Each have their good points, but each have their issues that they seriously need to look at closely - and FIX ASAP.

 

[Ogre]

FWIW, read that Rivian doubled output to 200 trucks per week.

It’s good to see progress.

 

[FlatSix911]

FWIW, read that Rivian doubled output to 200 trucks per week.

It’s good to see progress.

More details from Electrek.

Rivian paused production earlier this month to hone its manufacturing processes, hoping to ramp up output to 200 EVs a week

American automaker Rivian reportedly halted its production lines in Illinois to fix some issues and streamline its manufacturing processes.

electrek.co

"According to people who asked not to be identified speaking to Bloomberg, Rivian halted its production lines for about a week at the start of 2022 to fix and improve its manufacturing processes. According to those familiar with the company, one inhibitor to the production success of the R1T last year, was the SOP for its second EV, the R1S SUV. While some customer-ready R1S’s have been built, Rivian still has some pre-production processes to tighten up before its a full go.

Additionally, the automaker is still in the (production) process of assembling its electric delivery vans for Amazon, 10,000 of which are due for delivery before year’s end, followed by 90,000 more before the end of the decade. Like many businesses, Rivian has reportedly also had to manage multiple COVID-19 outbreaks at its Normal, Illinois, facility. Following the brief intermission from production, Rivian appears to have addressed many of these issues and is looking to ramp up its EV output to 200 units a week. This news sent Rivian’s shares back up on Wednesday – all despite the automaker receiving its first big price-target cut from Wall Street earlier."

 

[Ogre]

Additionally, the automaker is still in the (production) process of assembling its electric delivery vans for Amazon, 10,000 of which are due for delivery before year’s end, … looking to ramp up its EV output to 200 units a week. This news sent Rivian’s shares back up on Wednesday – all despite the automaker receiving its first big price-target cut from Wall Street earlier."

Well not quite the good news I’d thought. I thought that was trucks for some reason. They need to build about EVs 250/ week just to service Amazon.

 

[Bouba]

Well not quite the good news I’d thought. I thought that was trucks for some reason. They need to build about EVs 250/ week just to service Amazon.

I think even more...these trucks going to Amazon are going to be used and abused...Rivian are going to be flat out just producing spare parts to keep the Amazon fleet on the road and looking good. I wonder how many potential customers are looking at the F150?

 

[chinney]

200 a week works out to just over 10,000 a year, assuming no production pauses. That is not all that much. And as noted, that is apparently total "EV" production, not just the R1T. Indeed, most of the EVs will have to be Amazon vans, to meet that contractual obligation. And looking at it more closely, the article indicates that Rivian was "looking to ramp up production" to 200 EVs per week, not that they had actually reached that target.

Rivian's production targets, and production achievements, will have to be upped considerably. As I noted previously, Rivian is in a challenging phase right now. That is not to say that they will be unable to meet those challenges.

 

[dipper]

As sad as Rivian is, looks like Tesla is much worse now that CyberTruck is vaporware (again) until who known when it will not be.

So much sadness until the legacy big boys sell their stuff soon.

 

[FlatSix911]

As sad as Rivian is, looks like Tesla is much worse now that CyberTruck is vaporware (again) until who known when it will not be.

So much sadness until the legacy big boys sell their stuff soon.

Agreed... the CyberTruck production timeline has now shifted to 2023.

Tesla delays Cybertruck production due to supply chain constraints; new timeline is vague

Tesla confirmed today that it is delaying the start of Cybertruck production as supply chain issues, especially the chip shortage,...

electrek.co

"Musk said that Tesla would not launch any new vehicle this year due to supply chain constraints. In a conference call following the release of its Q4 2021 financial results, the CEO explained that any new vehicle launch this year wouldn’t actually help Tesla deliver more total electric vehicles in 2022 since some parts shared between vehicles, especially chips, wouldn’t see more supply.

As for the new timeline for the Cybertruck, Musk only said that it would “hopefully come next year,” which would mean sometime in 2023. The company didn’t issue new specs or pricing for the vehicle despite removing those from its website last year."

 

[MaskedRacerX]

The R1S could easily be on the short list for our next EV purchasing cycle, which is about 2 years out, hopefully by then we'll have a good sense of whether Rivian is viable in the consumer vehicle market, i.e.

- The product will have proven itself, no catastrophic issues, etc.
- An order can be fulfilled in a "reasonable" amount of time (If I'm the 50,001 order and they're making 10K a year ... no)
- They'll have sold enough to establish a decent service footprint / model
- The 400 mile (extended range) R1S will be available

Also as kind of a general EV consideration over the next 2 years: I hope we see substantial growth of the non-Tesla DCFC networks (by way of new locations and a the possible Tesla plan to open SuCs to other vehicles). For me, today, I don't know that I'd buy a BEV that doesn't have access to the Tesla SuC network (but I realize that's a whole separate discussion).

 

[electricjib]

As sad as Rivian is, looks like Tesla is much worse now that CyberTruck is vaporware (again) until who known when it will not be.

So much sadness until the legacy big boys sell their stuff soon.

How are they worst off? They’re adding two functional factories this year, They’ll make between 1-2 million EVs, they will expand profits, add their own cell manufacturing, work through their backlog of orders to get customers happy, add thousands of more high-speed chargers, continue test builds on new models, and continue to expand their energy solutions sector.

Tesla is fine. I have a CT and R1T on preorder. The R1T was shown years ago and maybe 200 delivered? The R1T at this point while somewhat is shipping, is really still being tested. Toneau covers and drive modes are limited in early runs to employees.

The CT was unveiled in 2019. Even if you ignore the pandemic the CT is on a fast track through traditional car creation. Testing is underway and the factory is taking shape. The F150 was in the works in 2017 and is just shipping in 2022. Technically every test or prototype is vapor ware to you im assuming?

The CT tech has advanced to meet and beat the market. Like quad motor and rear wheel steer. Rivian im sure will be fine. But they have a long way to go. So please tell me, how is Tesla worst off?

 

[dipper]

Where is the $39k truck? I am waiting!

 

[WhiteWi]

Where is the $39k truck? I am waiting!

LoL, the product is not out yet and they never promised to have that price set in stone. They were aiming to that price points. I am sure Tesla will sell every single Dual motor CT even at 59k and quad CT 500 mile for 79k.

 

[Zorg]

LoL, the product is not out yet and they never promised to have that price set in stone. They were aiming to that price points. I am sure Tesla will sell every single Dual motor CT even at 59k and quad CT 500 mile for 79k.

Or maybe they'll make 500 a year like Ford.

 

[WhiteWi]

Or maybe they'll make 500 a year like Ford.

Sure in the end of 23

 

[dipper]

Looks like a lot of cancellations today. Big price bump for reservations. And a lot of complaining online.

 

[WhiteWi]

Looks like they introduced dual motor , standard aka lower range to Mach that old price. What a scammers