Rivian CEO Doesn’t Think Cybertruck Will Lure Away R1T Customers... Agree / Disagree?

[Bill W.]

As stated here, pricing of the CT will definitely be a factor in the final purchase decision. For those of us who will be waiting for 2-3 years for our CT, the wild card will be other as-yet unavailable EV pickups that come to market. The manufacturer that can find the sweet spot of price/value/style/function/etc will do very well.

 

[cbrtrckrsrvd112219]

2 reasons why I have Cybertruck reservation and no Rivian sitting in my driveway
1) cost
2) I believe Tesla has best proven battery tech and management. Which in my mind equals better chance for greater vehicle longevity and efficiency

2 reasons I am not buying Rivian or F150L:
- price
- no NACS connector
- it is not CT

.. and I hate those loopy eyes headlights on Rivian and cheap plastic fluorescent bulb cover things on F150L

 

[RayzorBEV]

2 reasons I am not buying Rivian or F150L:
- price
- no NACS connector
- it is not CT

.. and I hate those loopy eyes headlights on Rivian and cheap plastic fluorescent bulb cover things on F150L

Rivian is all in on the NACS. All future build will have it as standard. An adapter will be out soon for those without. The dual motor R1T is priced in the low $70's but you are right in that it's not CT
As far as those gorgeous "loopy" eyes, they r marvelous

 

[WHIZZARD OF OZ]

Rivian's CEO RJ Scaringe explains why he's not too worried about the Cybertruck, as he explained in this interview with The Verge.

"If you were to think of, like, the Venn diagrams of [Rivian R1T and Tesla Cybertruck] customers, there's probably not a lot of overlap." He goes on to explain: the auto industry is diverse in a way that many EV proponents (often from the tech industry) just don't understand. He sees room for multiple answers to the question of the best electric truck, calling the Cybertruck "different," and says that "it's great that a product like that exists in the world" because of its contribution toward electrification.​

I had an overlap Dog...Once in a lifetime thing! That won't happen again.....

 

[kbolt]

If you look at traditional car ownership there are some that are brand loyal, but there are more people that move around. So I think there will always be people who are a Rivian and are ready to try something new.

I was never brand loyal, and will leave Tesla if something better is produced. When I was 16 I had cash and saw a cheap car for sale on the side of the road, it was a Chevy. A few years later it went from crap to total crap and wasn't helping my love life. I saw a Toyota for sale and changed brand. It had electrical problems and died every 6 months. At this point I had a dog and camped a lot so moved to Subaru. Now I have a family and put safety above all else so I got a Tesla. Next will be the CT. After that if another company makes a better vehicle I'll switch, maybe that's Rivian, maybe it's something else.

I think most people buy the first car they see that makes sense for them when ready to buy, regardless of brand. Rivian checks a lot of boxes for a lot of people

 

[greggertruck]

this is definitely the big unknown that cause his comments to be somewhat unfounded at present

the truth/falsity of market overlap will hinge on relative value proposition

Very much agree here.

The truth of the opponent that is about to come is it's made by a company that knows how to build both affordable, and super EVs. Rivian is still trying to find their fit. But currently it's backed itself into being a "toy of the rich" by many peoples belief.

Great truck, not my truck.

 

[Diehard]

2 reasons I am not buying Rivian or F150L:
- price
- no NACS connector
- it is not CT

 

[Diehard]

2) I believe Tesla has best proven battery tech and management. Which in my mind equals better chance for greater vehicle longevity and efficiency

That is an important point. You are probably right (not sure if you are). That is my main concern with my Lightning.

 

[Mini2nut]

The R1T is supposed to get receive significant updates around summer of 2024. I believe Rivian has already removed one of the dual 12v batteries.

 

[FutureBoy]

Rivian's CEO RJ Scaringe explains why he's not too worried about the Cybertruck, as he explained in this interview with The Verge.

"If you were to think of, like, the Venn diagrams of [Rivian R1T and Tesla Cybertruck] customers, there's probably not a lot of overlap." He goes on to explain: the auto industry is diverse in a way that many EV proponents (often from the tech industry) just don't understand. He sees room for multiple answers to the question of the best electric truck, calling the Cybertruck "different," and says that "it's great that a product like that exists in the world" because of its contribution toward electrification.​

Overall, I think RJ is correct about the need for many manufacturers. However I disagree with his comment below:

Often in the context of the tech space we think of a single winner or maybe a small set of winners. In transportation by definition there needs to be many winners. So there needs to be 20 to 25 successful auto manufacturers building electric connected vehicles. So our success doesn't require someone else's failure and vice versa. It's just very different than when you think about traditional big tech where there is 1 or 2 really highly concentrated winners.

In theory, there could be a possible future of many winners balanced out among the auto makers of the world. In practice though, I only see a single company that is skilled at and continuing to ramp up major manufacturing efforts to address the major automotive market segments. If Ford, Rivian, and other pickup makers are all making vehicles at a rate of X00K per year, but Tesla is making over X,000K per year, there is a solid order of magnitude of output difference. It doesn't take long at those rates to have the marketplace get dominated by a single (Tesla) manufacturer.

This also goes for each of the other auto segments. Basically, unless the other manufacturers step up to matching or surpassing Tesla's production rates, there will be only 1 "really concentrated winner".

For the foreseeable future, any manufacturer that wants to ramp up acceptably well built and designed EVs at an affordable price will be able to sell every single one they can make. At some point there will be a maxing out of the industry though when the real competition between manufacturers will finally come into play. Till then, all the EVs will be sold.

So Rivian doesn't immediately have a demand problem. But if they want to be one of the major winners in the end, they need to figure out how to produce enough to even be considered a major manufacturer. If not, they will forever become a niche alternative. They might survive like that but they will never be a major player.

 

[Challeco]

The way I see it, design has always won, as long as the infrastructure is sufficient to allow utilization. The biggest drawback to all transportation is access to fuel. Currently EV's have advantage when the owner has direct access to electricity. Without the direct access, even a reliable charging station local to their residence, EV's lose their advantages. Tesla has known this since their beginning. Their infrastructure wins over any of the third party options. Until charging options like EA or Charge point stop acting like a punitive mandate and start acting like service stations from the early twentieth century, we will continue to fight EV adoption. To explain my example, when we start seeing service stations, where you can leave your vehicle to an attendant who will wash your windows, check your tire pressure, offer trash services for travelers, monitor your vehicle for charge, and offer you a place to rest with food and beverage (without gouging your wallet), with a friendly staff, we all will struggle to universally adopt. Tesla's idea of a retro-style drive in is on the right track. Once the service stations start to occur, where you don't need to walk half a mile away from your unattended car (locked or not), EV's can focus on variations of design. Because, at that point, the need for range and hyper-efficiency will take a back seat to beauty and style. Despite the annoying quirks of my Model Y not letting me in anywhere but the driver's door, I have loved my Tesla cars. With that said, if I didn't have to worry about being stranded by a disinterested third party charging system, I would love to entertain an EV that looks like a 1970's truck or a 1960's muscle car. Because in my opinion, design always wins.

 

[CYBRSMTH]

Rivian's CEO RJ Scaringe explains why he's not too worried about the Cybertruck, as he explained in this interview with The Verge.

"If you were to think of, like, the Venn diagrams of [Rivian R1T and Tesla Cybertruck] customers, there's probably not a lot of overlap." He goes on to explain: the auto industry is diverse in a way that many EV proponents (often from the tech industry) just don't understand. He sees room for multiple answers to the question of the best electric truck, calling the Cybertruck "different," and says that "it's great that a product like that exists in the world" because of its contribution toward electrification.​

I think there’s more overlap than he realizes. People who want tech-heavy, utilitarian, adventure vehicles that stand out from the crowd. They want range, hauling, towing, extended cabs, etc. A R1T might look more like a conventional truck, but it’s definitely unique looking with the gear tunnel, stadium headlights, and charge bar.

 

[CYBRSMTH]

2 reasons why I have Cybertruck reservation and no Rivian sitting in my driveway
1) cost
2) I believe Tesla has best proven battery tech and management. Which in my mind equals better chance for greater vehicle longevity and efficiency

The cheapest Rivian currently in stock is around $85,000. I think Tesla will bring out at least one of its two models under $80K, so it’ll qualify for the EV rebate in 2024.

 

[CYBRSMTH]

Rivian is all in on the NACS. All future build will have it as standard. An adapter will be out soon for those without. The dual motor R1T is priced in the low $70's but you are right in that it's not CT
As far as those gorgeous "loopy" eyes, they r marvelous

I like them, too. It makes Rivian unique.

 

[LoneWolfO6]

Think it will pull Rivian potential buyers! Seen an article that the Rivian truck bed is welded to the cab and if you are in slight rear fender bender it can cost upward to $45,000 to get the body work done. Looks as the roof and truck bed are all one price?

Finally if you don’t want the CT and want to spend $80k-$100k just get the Hummer or Chevy EV truck. At least they are full size!