Official email from Rivian offering Binding Purchase Agreement

[brancky3]

I just got a confirmation that my deposit was successful, but still not processed.

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[Husker Charlie]

Hopefully I get my R1T in 2022 anyway so I won't have to worry. My delivery estimate was December 2022 - January 2023 and my truck just went into 'selected_for_fulfillment' this week.

I don't think a 2022 delivery will help you. The new tax credit rules go into effect as soon as Biden signs the Act. If you take delivery in 2022 after the Bill goes into effect, you will be subject to the limitations in the new Act (for which most, if not all, Rivian vehicles will not qualify) unless you have a BPA before the Act becomes effective.

 

[brancky3]

I don't think a 2022 delivery will help you. The new tax credit rules go into effect as soon as Biden signs the Act. If you take delivery in 2022 after the Bill goes into effect, you will be subject to the limitations in the new Act (for which most, if not all, Rivian vehicles will not qualify) unless you have a BPA before the Act becomes effective.

Sure hope the BPA saves it then. We bought our Mach E earlier this year so we will get the credit for that but I'd like $15k for 2 vehicles instead of $7.5k for 1 vehicle .

 

[Gsxr150]

I am an attorney (and also an early pre-oder holder), and in my opinion, the Agreement that Rivian sent definitely has some issues. My impression is that Rivian was trying to do the right thing by offering customers a way to utilize the "transition rule" that is currently part of the Inflation Reduction Act, but that they also didn't want to create any obligation to fill everyone's order. This could be why section 9 of Rivian's Agreement says "while this Agreement creates a binding Order for you to purchase the Vehicle when built by Rivian, this Agreement does not create an obligation by Rivian to build the Vehicle."

As written, I'm having a hard time seeing how this Agreement would be enforceable at all. Every enforceable contract must have consideration by all parties. That means that each side must agree to do something (or not do something). So, for example, I could enter into a contract with my neighbor where we both agree to pay for half of a new fence between our properties. Or, Company A could agree to pay a disgruntled customer $100 in exchange for the customer agreeing not to sue Company A. Both sides agree to do (or not do) something, which is necessary for the contract to be enforceable. But the Rivian Agreement seems different. Under the Agreement that Rivian sent, the customer appears to be agreeing to several things, including that he/she will "purchase the Vehicle from Rivian" and that he/she allows $100 of the deposit to become non-refundable. In contrast, I'm having a hard time seeing how Rivian is agreeing to anything in this Agreement. And if that is the case, then this Agreement that Rivian sent all of us doesn't mean anything, and likely wouldn't allow anyone to use the "transition rule," since it requires a "written binding contract to purchase."

If Rivian wanted to fix this, I'm not saying they would need to agree to build the vehicle that the customer is agreeing to purchase. Consideration by Rivian could be something else, like giving the customer a $1 discount, or extending their warranty by one week.

Now, if Rivian did make some change to create an enforceable contract, then I'd have lots of questions about what the repercussions would be if a customer agrees and then backs out later. On one hand, it seems like the customer is agreeing to purchase, which suggests that backing out would be a breach of the contract. On the other hand, the language relating to the $100 deposit suggests that maybe that's all the customer is at risk of losing. I can see arguments for both sides of this, if it comes to a real legal dispute. One would also need to consider whether Rivian suffers any real loss if they are able to simply turn around and sell the vehicle to someone else (maybe even at a higher price).

Let me also make sure I say that I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do. This isn't legal advice. Everyone's situation is different. What I can say is that I have no expectation that, in my situation, signing Rivian's Agreement will provide the tax credit benefit we are all hoping for.

I don't think this is about it being enforceable. I believe they were (are) simply trying to help their customers. They didn't do this for themselves....they did it for us. What we requested.

 

[zipzag]

House just passed the inflation reduction act. Hopefully Biden doesn't sign it today. My "contract" is dated today.

 

[Friscorays]

House just passed the inflation reduction act. Hopefully Biden doesn't sign it today. My "contract" is dated today.

There will be a signing event. Possibly over weekend but I would guess early next week.

 

[IPlaw]

I don't think this is about it being enforceable. I believe they were (are) simply trying to help their customers. They didn't do this for themselves....they did it for us. What we requested.

I agree with you that Rivian was trying to do what we all wanted. I'm just pointing out that when the IRS takes a look at this, they could easily say that none of us have a binding contract based on the wording of the Rivian Agreement they sent us.

 

[TexasBob]

I am an attorney (and also an early pre-oder holder), and in my opinion, the Agreement that Rivian sent definitely has some issues. My impression is that Rivian was trying to do the right thing by offering customers a way to utilize the "transition rule" that is currently part of the Inflation Reduction Act, but that they also didn't want to create any obligation to fill everyone's order. This could be why section 9 of Rivian's Agreement says "while this Agreement creates a binding Order for you to purchase the Vehicle when built by Rivian, this Agreement does not create an obligation ...

Interesting observation. The Fisker contract creates the following obligations for Fisker:
1) Price of the model is fixed and guaranteed (options may be determined in the future)
2) Company will supply you the vehicle at that price
3) If the customer backs out there are enumerated Liquidated Damages at various stages of the ordering and delivery process (e.g. they keep all deposits and shipping fees once those are paid)
It seems that the Fisker lawyers had this in mind when they drafted.

 

[IPlaw]

Interesting observation. The Fisker contract creates the following obligations for Fisker:
1) Price of the model is fixed and guaranteed (options may be determined in the future)
2) Company will supply you the vehicle at that price
3) If the customer backs out there are enumerated Liquidated Damages at various stages of the ordering and delivery process (e.g. they keep all deposits and shipping fees once those are paid)
It seems that the Fisker lawyers had this in mind when they drafted.

Yep, totally agree. I haven't seen the whole Fisker contract, but what you described sounds like real consideration on behalf of Fisker.

 

[R1Sky Business]

Weird that customer support chat is currently offline ?

Weekly yoga retreat

 

[R1Sky Business]

Apologies, you are correct. I had based my comment on a poorly worded article about 2022 orders delivered in 2023.

All is good

 

[R1Sky Business]

I'm a "reinstated" buyer and I got the contract email last night.

Winning

 

[R1Sky Business]

I don't think this is about it being enforceable. I believe they were (are) simply trying to help their customers. They didn't do this for themselves....they did it for us. What we requested.

And now everyone is upset about it.....

 

[R1Sky Business]

House just passed the inflation reduction act. Hopefully Biden doesn't sign it today. My "contract" is dated today.

Any changes to bill???

 

[Jac]

Any changes to bill???

No.

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