? RJ's Letter -- Making it Right -- REVERSING THE PRICE CHANGE FOR PREORDER HOLDERS

[Scoiatael]

I cancelled my order a few minutes before I saw this anouncement. Then received the email an hour after that. It's been a crazy two days in Rivianland! Need to decide what to do now. Have some mixed feelings

They will still refund your $1000 and not charge you to get back in line, so there is no downside to doing it that I can think of.

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[IronM5]

I would have told those who cancelled to bug off ?

And now here come the cry babies running back to how great the car is.

Instead I guess they will sell the people that didn't cancel the trucks at 20% more

They will still refund your $1000 and not charge you to get back in line, so there is no downside to doing it that I can think of.

Do we just re-place the order?

 

[Scoiatael]

Instead I guess they will sell the people that didn't cancel the trucks at 20% more

Do we just re-place the order?

You can either wait for the email, or chat with CS and ask to be added to the list of people who want to reinstate their cancelled order. I did that this morning and they said it'll take a few days to see the order again.

 

[kpx110]

Selfishly I am happy to be getting the original price, I probably would have declined to move forward when mine was ready at the new pricing. I am impressed with the reversal.

However, bigger picture I really thought this could be the end of Rivian as a viable consumer automotive company. Nobody really knows the full picture ... but imagine you are a huge investor and you find out that 20-40% of pre-orders went poof and then more then 10% of the stock value disappeared - in one day. That is seriously bad news. I really hope that they can recover them and retain them (mostly by improving delivery schedule).

 

[Iwannarivian]

Hello Everyone, Earlier this week, we announced pricing increases that broke the trust we have worked to build with you. Since originally setting our pricing structure, and most especially in recent months, a lot has changed. The costs of the components and materials that go into building our vehicles have risen considerably. Everything from semiconductors to sheet metal to seats has become more expensive and with this we have seen average new vehicle pricing across the U.S. rise more than 30% since 2018. Given our build lead up times, we need to plan production costs not only for today, but also for the future. As we worked to update pricing to reflect these cost increases, we wrongly decided to make these changes apply to all future deliveries, including pre-existing configured preorders. We failed to appreciate how you viewed your configuration as price locked, and we wrongly assumed the announced Dual-Motor and Standard battery pack would provide configurations that would deliver price points similar to your original configuration. While this was the logic, it was wrong and we broke your trust in Rivian. We also didn’t manage communications well. We didn’t give you enough insight into what was driving these decisions. The most important aspect of what we are building is our relationship with all of you. As we demonstrated earlier this week, trust is hard to build and easy to break. In speaking with many of you over the last two days, I fully realize and acknowledge how upset many of you felt. I have made a lot of mistakes since starting Rivian more than 12 years ago, but this one has been the most painful. I am truly sorry and committed to rebuilding your trust. One of the things we talk about a lot internally is that we will make mistakes – it’s part of building something complex. The key is to learn from them and address them when they are made. It is how we grow. We made a mistake in how we approached our pricing changes, and what is important now is that we fix it. For anyone with a Rivian preorder as of the March 1 pricing announcement, your original configured price will be honored. If you canceled your preorder on or after March 1 and would like to reinstate it, we will restore your original configuration, pricing and delivery timing. Our team will be sending an email in the next few days with more details. Regarding our updated pricing for future preorders, the introduction of our Dual-Motor configuration and Standard battery pack has been designed to enable us to maintain lower starting prices while adjusting the pricing of the Quad-Motor and larger battery packs to reflect rising costs. Building a durable business is core to the continued impact we can deliver as a company. We are focused on building a brand and products that will continue to scale to different vehicle sizes, use cases, price points and markets – this growth will only be possible with your support and continued feedback. Thank you for the personal notes and discussions I had with so many of you. Your feedback makes us better. RJ​

Did I miss WHEN our configurations will be restored to original price…because mine is still at the higher price as of 6pm CST

 

[IronM5]

You can either wait for the email, or chat with CS and ask to be added to the list of people who want to reinstate their cancelled order. I did that this morning and they said it'll take a few days to see the order again.

I sent them a message. Thanks!

 

[E.S.]

Did I miss WHEN our configurations will be restored to original price…because mine is still at the higher price as of 6pm CST

No, but you did miss that it was stated that it would take a couple of days to get to everyone that was affected this way.

 

[ex0de]

Did I miss WHEN our configurations will be restored to original price…because mine is still at the higher price as of 6pm CST

As per the email: "in the next few days". I canceled mine so waiting for their email...

 

[Friscorays]

As per the email: "in the next few days". I canceled mine so waiting for their email...

If you cancelled and want back in, I would not wait for them to reach out.

 

[Napoleon Blownaparte]

Please cancel,very few people who buy a three row SUV want just five seats. That could be why vehicles like the CX9, Telluride, Highlander are all three row with no option to delete seats. Deal with it (quietly please) as you are in a very small minority who want this - it adds build complexity for virtually no gain to Rivian.

Right, so because I want something slightly different than you, what I want shouldn't matter and I should just go away?

That's pretty weak. And I probably will end up cancelling if they stick with the "no 5-seat option." But GFY for thinking you can tell me what I should want. They offered it and I ordered it. I'm not at fault because they've reneged on that deal.

 

[ex0de]

If you cancelled and want back in, I would not wait for them to reach out.

Here's the email:

For anyone with a Rivian preorder as of the March 1 pricing announcement, your original configured price will be honored. If you canceled your preorder on or after March 1 and would like to reinstate it, we will restore your original configuration, pricing and delivery timing. Our team will be sending an email in the next few days with more details.

Anything still not clear to you?

 

[Trandall]

Wow, what a roller coaster... beat my all time record of posts read in a day!
Wouldn't have thought it would play out this way in a million years.
My takeaways
1. Rivian just essentially locked in our prices.
2. Rivian likely now understands that their poor communications have cost them hundreds of millions of dollars.
3. Rivian needs to take real steps to ensure blunders like this end.
4. Pre March 1 preorders are going to be worth a premium on the secondary market.
5. It would be wise if RJ took a bigger roll in communicating to the Rivian community.
6. This turnaround is going to cause bunches of technical headaches.
I will surely remember others the second I hit send but that's it for now.

 

[ex0de]

Right, so because I want something slightly different than you, what I want shouldn't matter and I should just go away?

That's pretty weak. And I probably will end up cancelling if they stick with the "no 5-seat option." But GFY for thinking you can tell me what I should want. They offered it and I ordered it. I'm not at fault because they've reneged on that deal.

You can just fold the seats though, they fold flat from what I saw. That's how I'm gonna drive mine most of the time. ?‍

 

[freshpow]

I think the space along the bottom/floor of the trunk is different. The 7-seat option has the interior sidewall of the vehicle pushed inward to form an armrest for the people using it, and it carries down to the floor. This means that, while volume is pretty close to the same, you now have a narrower entrance to the trunk at floor level - not great if you're trying to load large items that may be slightly wider than that at the base

I want the 5-seat. I have zero use for the additional seat and I don't want it. If it can be removed completely and there is literally no other difference between the two vehicles, then I'll still probably purchase my R1S. If, however, it either can't be removed, or there's a change in the floor/side design and layout like I described, then I'll probably cancel. I ordered the R1S and specifically the 5-seat because I wanted a ton of open covered space. If I'm paying this much for a vehicle, and it's really (pre-increase) kind of at the edge of what I'm willing to spend, I want to get what I originally wanted, not what they now want to make available.

Probably seems stupid to some, but that's why, for me. I don't want it and I don't want a vehicle that has it. If I'm being made to get something configured in a way I don't really like, then I can get that for cheaper, elsewhere.

I'm sorry to hear that it won't meet your needs. While we don't have official specs yet, I'd imagine it's as you described where the interior sidewall will protrude a bit. Before you cancel, let me know if you need someone to take it off your hands

 

[Trandall]

Right, so because I want something slightly different than you, what I want shouldn't matter and I should just go away?

That's pretty weak. And I probably will end up cancelling if they stick with the "no 5-seat option." But GFY for thinking you can tell me what I should want. They offered it and I ordered it. I'm not at fault because they've reneged on that deal.

Not to stop your rant but you know the R1T has seats 5, 2 rows and tons of lockable weathertight storage right?

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