R1T & R1S Updated Pricing, Configuration, Specs. Dual Motor Now Available

[the long way downunder]

Not sure where some of you are getting a 3+ year price disparity. Pricing wasn't released 3+ years ago, it was disclosed a year ago. Do you think that the just decided in 2021 to release the prices they had in mind in 2018?

I'm not following through your typo's, but the R1T was due in 2020 and pricing "expectations" were set in late 2019 (or earlier?) long before the configurator. So unlike Tesla for example, which increases frequently to balance supply and demand (and, for example Jan 2019 when the incentive gravy train dried up, decreases prices) Rivian has gone years without communicating realistic price estimates. Perhaps they were riding the market to see where prices would be right now rather than distracting their prospective customers with rising and falling prices as Tesla and the EV market moved. Still, I think they should have sorted this out before the IPO) but clearly their decision was to hold off and not even tell their customer service people.

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[Fotoshark]

I’m so ? !!! the 12k increase just priced me out and I’m not spending this much money only to downgrade the 250 mile battery! I’m out, fu Rivian!!

 

[randoggg]

i wonder if they raised the price of their delivery vans to amazon by $20k overnight.

amazon can have their original price if willing to wait two more years, accept lower range, reduced power. oh and half the motors.

of course waiting two years is just an estimate. it might be four or more. they'll be notified after the deadline passes

 

[ERguy]

Not sure I get the outrage. The price is 100% inline with competition, still better (at least for me), I have only put in$ 1k, and get to cancel anytime up to the day of signing.

The problem is that it's NOT in line with expectations set by Rivian. No other car company is hiking prices this much, indicating that either Rivian knew for quite some time their prices listed were not accurate, making Rivian's decision to advertise those inaccurate prices so long unethical, or they are simply terrible at estimating and setting prices for their vehicles, which calls into question their competence.

Either way that's plenty of reason for customers to back out. The outrage is more than justified.

 

[the long way downunder]

Why are you confused? You are one of the lucky few to be grandfathered in with the old pricing structure.

An 8/2019 order is not getting built in March '22 … it looks like "some" 2018 pre-orders will be built before the price change.

 

[Friscorays]

My config went up 13k...but this loss is actually 20k since I won't qualify for $7,500 tax credit.....DUDE

Dude, you will still qualify for the tax credit, there is no price cap.

 

[hola29]

I am confused. They have never charged the first or second price. So you have not paid anything. The cost to produce the car has risen and competitors are charging an in-line or higher amount.

I guess they did make mistake with setting the price far too low. TFL truck and Doug Demuro both mentioned it and I was thinking what a bargain way before that. Now it’s priced fairly imo.

It’s a luxury car EOD and they are going for a premium. Again not sure about the outrage.

The problem is that it's NOT in line with expectations set by Rivian. No other car company is hiking prices this much, indicating that either Rivian knew for quite some time their prices listed were not accurate, making Rivian's decision to advertise those in accurate prices so long unethical, or they are simply terrible at estimating and setting prices for their vehicles, which calls into question their competence.

Either way that's plenty of reason for customers to back out. The outrage is more than justified.

 

[the long way downunder]

FYI - Just received an email from my guide confirming that my price was locked in at $76,750.

Hopefully, there is good news coming to everyone.

How can a 8/2019 pre-order be built for pre-orders from Jan and Feb 2019?
From what (little) I know, only 2018 pre-orders are being built in '22 Q1.

 

[IPTV65]

Mine went from $78,800 to $96,500 for same exact build. So now this 1st gen car will cost as much as a Tesla Model X who has been doing it for 10yrs.

Dont know if I'll stick around but I have another 2-3yrs to decide since they are still figuring out how to produce vehicles.

Model X is a hell of a lot more than that. $113k for a basic 7 seater. Go hit the site if ya don’t believe me.

 

[astonius]

Hi Rivian,

Due to market forces, the refund amount you will provide for my deposit has increased.

 

[1973LT]

That's a sound idea. Ford is already offering $2500 of its (completely sold out and unavailable) F-150 (not the Lightning … almost any F-150.) People are somehow … idiots. Somehow Amazon says "free delivery" and people somehow think "yeah! free delivery!" …
But "discounts" are a tricky game in the brand marketing world. What we're seeing is the conventional approach to a niche market product where demand must always outstrip supply. It's called "artificial scarcity." The auto industry stumbled onto this reality in its mainstream marques (Ford, GM, Stellantis) due to the "chip shortage" and now that new and used car prices have escalated in response to unmet demand, they're enjoying the higher profits and they have no intention of going back to dealer lots full of aging, rusting metal and "5% below invoice" … we'll see if they hold that line (noting the Ford $2500 offer already in my email) … but for the consumer enjoying the idea of buying a car on the Web, no dealership nonsense, what they're not fully appreciating is that Web purchases are higher prices and higher profits than in-person purchases … Tesla has been steadily, aggressively raising prices as demand increases. Eventually the market will experience price elasticity reaching a threshold of demand … in other words, Rivian will repeatedly attempt price "discovery" by raising prices (say, each quarter) till demand falls off to the point that they've reached some percentage of production capacity and attrition of orders. Say they can produce 100% of orders and they lose 10% of orders before building the given order, they will continue to increase prices till they reach that threshold … thereby introducing artificial scarcity. Rivian doesn't need to experiment too much because, like almost all visible aspects of the EV market, Tesla has already done the discovery and demonstrated the price-demand relationship. : )

I ordered an F250 Tremor in August. I am taking delivery next week. I waited almost 7 months but I have skirted longer delays coming just after my order. Dealers are marking this vehicle up $10-$15k on trucks that have arrived and are not claimed. Ford is honoring pricing on the date ordered. I respect this approach. To think that labor and supply challenges are not confronting both companies is ludicrous. It's how these companies deal with these issues that defines them. To think about Rivian's market capitalization value compared to Ford and yet they have no issue marking up unit cost to their long term supporters is not a supportable argument. I as many here also supported their IPO. The valuation was questioned at the time. However, I supported what I thought was their vision. So now my vehicle order cost has increased 20% as an early adopter (2019). Additionally, my investment in a company that I did believe in has decreased by over 20%. I am feeling that the fairy tale is coming to an end for me.

 

[ERguy]

I guess they did make mistake with setting the price far too low. TFL truck and Doug Demuro both mentioned it and I was thinking what a bargain way before that. Now it’s priced fairly imo.

It’s a luxury car EOD and they are going for a premium. Again not sure about the outrage

You absolutely do get the outrage. You just summarized why we are outraged.

Rivian advertised prices that were either intentionally low with no intention of selling at those prices, or they are really bad at setting prices and made one giant "oops" which took years to identify and correct.

Nobody here is arguing that the new price isn't in line with other vehicles. We are pissed that Rivian's pricing was so far off from reality that now they are raising prices on reservations by a percentage that is certainly NOT in line with price hikes made by other car companies.

 

[freshpow]

I am confused. They have never charged the first or second price. So you have not paid anything. The cost to produce the car has risen and competitors are charging an in-line or higher amount.

I guess they did make mistake with setting the price far too low. TFL truck and Doug Demuro both mentioned it and I was thinking what a bargain way before that. Now it’s priced fairly imo.

It’s a luxury car EOD and they are going for a premium. Again not sure about the outrage.

I think that's exactly the problem for a lot of people, myself included although I haven't been waiting that long. With a little bit of foresight, planning, and customer centric thinking, Rivian could have easily prevented this. They could have chosen to introduce gradual price increases as their backlog grew, locking in pricing at various stages for early adopters, to keep the backlog under control and eventually reach the same fair market price, inclusive of inflation, raw materials, etc. Instead of respecting their earliest supporters, they chose to screw just about everyone with these astronomical price increases and bait and switch tactics.

 

[astonius]

You absolutely do get the outrage. You just summarized why we are outraged.

That’s the guy that excuses every single poor decision Rivian has made. Probably works for them.

 

[Zybane]

Honestly, I think the pricing change is a prelude to them pulling a Lucid on the next earnings call. I won't be surprised if they significantly cut their production forcast due to supply chain issues.

Bingo. I doubt they produce more than 20K vehicles this year. Pandemic is useful to blame everything on, even though it's virtually over. To keep profit up with the drastic reduction in vehicle volume, here we are with the massive price increase.

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