Ordered a Rivian R1T after owning a Cybertruck for three months

[Pops]

Still trying to figure out why there are so many people that need more range… who drives 300+ mile stretches without any access to recharge… ?

OPs specific use case is towing. You almost cannot have enough range for that, even 500 miles of rated range would still only be around 200 while towing.

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[Pops]

I really don't know why you posted this in a CT group. I have no interest in the rivian whatsoever.

Do you realize this is posted in a section of the forum specifically designated for comparisons between the Cybertruck and the competition? The people who own/run this Forum welcome this discussion as I believe most of its users do as well.

 

[Arctic_White]

Maybe you didn't read what I actually wrote. In a nutshell:

Rivian's cost to produce has fallen dramatically, and it will continue to fall with Gen 2. I just think it's going to be very difficult to get it below the price the vehicles can be sold at in any volume, on a sustainable basis. And even if they did succeed at doing that, it won't get them anywhere near net profitability.

In other words, they have a longer hill to climb than Tesla in 2018 (when Tesla was ramping Model 3). And the hill is steep. And the soil is loose. And the troops are tired. And the General is unwilling to commit. And the opponents are fierce warriors.

Just sayin' anyone who thinks this will happen, because they hope it will happen, is not seeing things realistically. I'm a realist. I hope it will happen but I'm not seeing it. It's up to RJ who maintains unusually tight control of his company. Even the latest deal didn't ceed any control to VW. I think he might be in over his head.

Two observations:

1) RJ isn't Elon. It's not even close, and that isn't throwing shade on RJ.
2) Elon built Tesla as a start-up and still runs it like a start-up. Every cost is reviewed and reduced in Tesla. The same can't be said for Rivian.

Therefore, I am of the opinion that Rivian will go bankrupt. It's not a matter of if but rather when.

One last thing: when Tesla was ramping up, there was little competition *and* interest rates were low. Right now, Rivian has immense competition and interest rates are much higher. Tesla got lucky in succeeding because Tesla wasn't competing with Tesla. But Rivian is. You can draw your own conclusion here.

 

[cybercoffee]

As much as I am enjoying my CT, as a shareholder of both companies, I would really like Rivian to succeed. Absolutely agree regarding the serious differences between the two companies' execution and management. Rivian losing nearly 40 grand per car produced is a huge issue...that being said, company financials aside, I can see myself owning both in the future. Rivians look awesome and the electrochromic/electrochromatic roof sounds amazing.

 

[EricM]

I just went the other direction and traded my Rivian for the Cybertruck. I really liked my Rivian and thought it was a good value for the money. Build quality and fit/finish are similar to Tesla (I traded a 2019 Model X Raven for the Rivian when I bought it). Rivian’s autonomous driving features are very good but definitely nowhere near even basic autopilot. You really can’t go wrong with either vehicle. I traded simply because something in my garage needed to go and the frustration of dealing with the other DCFC networks to charge the Rivian (I take a lot of road trips) made it the easy choice to get rid of.

 

[jerhenderson]

Do you realize this is posted in a section of the forum specifically designated for comparisons between the Cybertruck and the competition? The people who own/run this Forum welcome this discussion as I believe most of its users do as well.

And as an earlier poster said, it reads like an ad.

 

[cybrtrk88]

Rivian is cool, but it doesn't look like a cybertruck.

 

[Pops]

Rivian is cool, but it doesn't look like a cybertruck.

Agreed, I cannot get past those headlights, ewww. If it wasnt for the headlights and the horror stories of $30k repairs for a simple fender bender, I would have considered the Rivian.

 

[Pops]

And as an earlier poster said, it reads like an ad.

You're not wrong about that, but neither was OP. I think they made some valid points about the differences and strengths of the upcoming updated R1T. I didnt see anything that was false or exaggerated.

 

[Nolacyber]

I've had my Cybertruck for three months. Last week, I ordered a 2025 Rivian R1T Adventure Dual Max with an estimated range of 420 miles. I'm expecting delivery of my Rivian in Sep-Oct.

I'm plan on keeping my Cybertruck for at least a year. Hopefully they won't have to be in for service at the same time.

I'm anticipating the R1T to have 30% more range than my Cybertruck. This extended range battery doesn't take up space in the load bed like the Cybertruck's range extender. The Rivian offers two additional advantages. When towing with the Cybertruck, we have to drop the trailer in order to back up to the Supercharger. On the Rivian, the charging port is in front of the front wheels, meaning we can pull straight in up to the charger. The Rivian can charge at many of the Superchargers that I use on a regular basis. Also, the Rivian has storage space for a full size spare tire, like most other pickups. The spare tire in my Cybertruck takes up half of the load bed. Both the Cybertruck and Rivian have a maximum towing capacity of 11,000 pounds. For the reasons stated above, the Rivian will definitely be my towing vehicle of choice.

The R1T Gen 2 truck includes Rivian's Autonomy Platform+ (Trial included through 2024), which includes 11 high-resolution cameras, including new 4K HDR units, ultrasonic sensors, and five advanced radars, including a Front Imaging Radar, detecting objects up to 1,000-feet away even in challenging weather and lighting conditions. These radars serve as a vital backup to the cameras. I liked having radar and ultrasonic sensors on my Model 3. I like having sensors that can see in unfavorable conditions.

Dual NVIDIA DRIVE Orin processors running DRIVE OS help power the Autonomy Compute Module on Rivian's second generation R1, performing over 250 trillion operations per second. Tesla is ahead of Rivian with FSD v.12, but Rivian had the hardware needed to catch up.

The price of the R1T Dual-motor AWD is $69,900, plus $14,000 for the Max battery, for a total of $83,900.
For more info, see https://stories.rivian.com/meet-the-new-r1

There is no service network; not even mobile network in Louisiana.

 

[CyberTW]

5 billion from VW should keep Rivian afloat while they optimize production costs not to mention the R2 and R3 models having broader markets.

As great as the CT's technology and general practicality is, the only significant disadvantage the R1T has to it is the smaller size. As I point out in various posts, we are blessed with a wonderful assortment of EV pickup choices. We should celebrate that and let people "choose their poison" without bashing their decisions.

It’s 1 billion with the extra being incentive based - and if you look at them, it’s most definitely not a guarantee for the other 4b… just fyi

 

[tmeyer3]

First we get "sponsored" forums, then CT aftermarket vendor ads, and now just regular ads? I might just go open a better owner's forum....

 

[ÆCIII]

I've had my Cybertruck for three months. Last week, I ordered a 2025 Rivian R1T Adventure Dual Max with an estimated range of 420 miles. I'm expecting delivery of my Rivian in Sep-Oct.

I'm plan on keeping my Cybertruck for at least a year. Hopefully they won't have to be in for service at the same time.

I'm anticipating the R1T to have 30% more range than my Cybertruck. This extended range battery doesn't take up space in the load bed like the Cybertruck's range extender. The Rivian offers two additional advantages. When towing with the Cybertruck, we have to drop the trailer in order to back up to the Supercharger. On the Rivian, the charging port is in front of the front wheels, meaning we can pull straight in up to the charger. The Rivian can charge at many of the Superchargers that I use on a regular basis. Also, the Rivian has storage space for a full size spare tire, like most other pickups. The spare tire in my Cybertruck takes up half of the load bed. Both the Cybertruck and Rivian have a maximum towing capacity of 11,000 pounds. For the reasons stated above, the Rivian will definitely be my towing vehicle of choice.

The R1T Gen 2 truck includes Rivian's Autonomy Platform+ (Trial included through 2024), which includes 11 high-resolution cameras, including new 4K HDR units, ultrasonic sensors, and five advanced radars, including a Front Imaging Radar, detecting objects up to 1,000-feet away even in challenging weather and lighting conditions. These radars serve as a vital backup to the cameras. I liked having radar and ultrasonic sensors on my Model 3. I like having sensors that can see in unfavorable conditions.

Dual NVIDIA DRIVE Orin processors running DRIVE OS help power the Autonomy Compute Module on Rivian's second generation R1, performing over 250 trillion operations per second. Tesla is ahead of Rivian with FSD v.12, but Rivian had the hardware needed to catch up.

The price of the R1T Dual-motor AWD is $69,900, plus $14,000 for the Max battery, for a total of $83,900.
For more info, see https://stories.rivian.com/meet-the-new-r1

Have you checked with other Rivian owners for their experienced 'real world range'?

Even pulling into a charger stall with a port on the front, with a trailer you will be often blocking other traffic or access unless there's an open space away from others and the trailer won't be in a thruway, so good luck with that. Some charging locations also don't support non-Tesla vehicles.

For autonomy, it's not only about hardware but also about data. I do agree with your views on Ultrasonic sensors, but mainly for parking areas. For driving, basic radar can give unreliable input which is why Tesla is apparently researching usefulness of high definition. Tesla intends to scale even more massively than they have already, so it's understandable that decisions on certain implementations may take longer, because a larger scale deployment of the wrong tech could be extremely costly.

Good luck with your purchase. I like the Rivian interiors, but I do not perceive their exterior style style and body lines as cohesive at all, mainly because I can't stop noticing it looks like the front light bar and headlights were designed by the manufacturer of Dyson oval fans. The front elements don't look like they were designed in cohesion with the rest of the vehicle to me, but instead just blended separately after the rest of the design was mostly finalized. Of course that's likely not the case but that's just what it looks like to me. While the Cybertruck is also a radical design departure from traditional trucks, to me it still appears cohesive in style from front to back. To me, one can always 'get used' to something different, as long as it's cohesive. But something that looks non-cohesive is more difficult for me to stop noticing.

Of course appearance is very subjective, and for many the functionality and how needs of one's specific use cases are met, are what's important at the end of the day. Plus the exterior appearance is not really noticed while driving anyway. Sounds like you've done your research on things that matter to you. Again, good luck.

- ÆCIII

 

[lowtek]

 

[jookyone]

I think they need to survive until their R2 platform gets to sufficient scale before they can possibly reach net profitability.

If they want to survive, they should skip the R2 as quick as possible and go straight to the R3X. It generated as much buzz and interest as the Cybertruck online. It's unique and ticks a lot of first time EV owner boxes as well as potential Rivian owner boxes.

R2 as a smaller R1S was a pure buzz kill. "We have two glove boxes now." Whooooopity Dooooo!

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