Official Rivian Email: A Look Ahead to 2023. Rivian Membership cancelled and unbundled into subscription services

[Akay07]

As if A&M hiring Bobby Petrino wasn't bad enough news this week...

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[zefram47]

Hey, at least we don't have to pay a monthly subscription to use our seat warmers.

That's coming later this year.

 

[GHuff]

The value to Rivian of us providing a continuous stream of real telematics data from the “fleet” of day-to-day driving to feed their data analytics systems is well worth the cost to them of providing owners with basic connectivity in exchange, IMHO.

You will need the LTE service to get live traffic, satellite view on maps, wifi hotspot and music streaming (video if/when that is added). That's the same as it is in any other car.

One major difference is that any other car allows carplay. Or even a usb audio connection to the vehicle. Rivian is quite literally forcing us to pay them or we go back to the stone age.

 

[nc10]

They didn't say that everyone would unanimously agree it was better, they said they believed their own approach was a better one

No, they didn't say unanimous. But they said something the effect "wait for it, we think you'll like it better. I'm just saying, to date, I believe a majorty don't, but there are some don't like or just don't want to not to be part of Apple or Google offerings/services.

In other vehicles with CP/AA, they still offer connectivity and plenty of people pay for it, because it offers something they feel is worth the price. I paid something like $400/year for connectivity in my Audi, for example. I liked the live traffic for the virtual cockpit, among other things. Others didn't I'm sure.

Some pay, but in the overall market, most don't. Almost all Rivian customers have cellular service already, for other parts of our lives. Not much reason to buy another service of lesser quality to use while driving our Rivians, except Rivian won't let us use our current cellular service to feed the displays, while most other car brands do.

I don't see how Rivian can conclude their Nav/infotainment is competiive yet. Its certainly not a service that would find many buyers except ........we can't fully use the better options we are already pay for in our cellular plan.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

That's coming later this year.

With demand based pricing. Heated seats start as low as $0.99/mo (in July)

Soon to come, Gear Guard powered by Ring. Requires purchase of a Ring bundle with Professional monitoring, plus a $10/mo integration fee with the Rivian.

 

[endress14]

I’m just glad they decided to keep the LTE free for the year and cut off free RAN, rather than the other way around. At least this way I get >1 year of something I use. Sucks for those without vehicles yet. Overall, I’m not pleased with the announcement.

 

[GHuff]

Another thing many people are glossing over is that going from Bundled to a-la-carte is a huge difference. When it was a broad bundled membership, you can justify over-paying for basic features like live maps or Spotify because the membership also includes more expensive and seldom used features like off-road vehicle extraction, roadside assistance, and free RAN charging. The cost of the more expensive and lesser used features (off-road extraction services) was basically being subsidized by everything else.

Now that everything is a-la-carte, we will be forced to pay for extremely basic features that most people never really comprehended they had to pay for. AND the more expensive features of Membership will now likely be much more expensive since they are no longer being subsidized/offset by the membership as a whole.

I don't see how can they do this without being explicit on what the features were/are and what the pricing is/was. They are making this decision before ever telling us that information for a reason.

Also, their basic features that they will now charge for better be up to or exceeding the competition. Otherwise, why pay? Oh yeah, because they don't allow CarPlay.

 

[GHuff]

IMO Rivian is obligated to provide free charging for at least 1 year from when owners took delivery

We were explicitly told that membership was free for a year after purchase. Membership included free charging on the RAN, free roadside assistance, and free connectivity. This was a major selling point and value proposition - and 1 year was promised to be included in the price of the car.

I will be challenging this with my guide, and you all should do. This is clear bait and switch for current owners.

I'm sure there was some fine print in there somewhere that clearly states they actually are not obligated, but still...not cool.

I agree with you, but the language also said that it can be changed at any time without notice. When I purchased, I brought this exact concern up to my guide and they basically said if I didn't like it then don't buy it. I asked over and over what the Beta Membership included, how long it was, how much was normal membership going to be and everyone at Rivian referred me to the basic pages on their website. I can't believe we all bought vehicles when Rivian can change basic stuff like this on a whim. What if they start charging for OTA updates or Gear Guard? I asked that exact question to my Guide and they sent me the fine print that said Rivian can change anything at anytime with no notice. Those are clearly features of the truck and not paid options, but hey, we actually have no idea. Because the Beta Membership was never defined.

 

[Zorg]

My wife's ID.4 gets an unlimited number of 1/2 hour EA charging sessions for three years.

I am bummed that I will probably never see a RAN charger in person before the free charging deal is sunsetted.

Yes, and ID4 clog all the EA stations. It rewards bad behavior. I would rather we all pay for fast charging and have chargers available when I need them.

 

[bummin]

Looking at the auto industry as a whole, and having been in and around it for longer than I want to admit, there is a lot they could throw out. Let's look at BMW models they have discussed in a subscription setting. Carplay, heated/cooled seats, remote locking, anti-theft. My daughters previous Tacoma, and now her WRX don't offer a fob to remote start vehicle without connected services package. My Ram has a FOB, but I have to pay if I want send directions to NAV, alarm alerts, theft recovery help, and so on. Every MFG is looking for additional revenue, and a hook to keep people loyal. Below are some things I think they should charge for, if not on list it should just be standard or my some timers kicked in and I forgot to list. Think about vehicles on the secondary market, would be nice to not have to sacrifice on an option you want as 1st owner didn't want to pay for it, but you can get it on a used vehicle?

1. RAN - This should be a trial with all purchased vehicles, then a competitive charge as there are costs involved. Make it better that the other guys, we are paying for electrons somewhere.

2. LTE Hotspot - How many people in the big picture use this? Have had this option in vehicles for years, Hotspot free and included in most cell plans. If you had your preferred streaming service (Apple in my case) I would stream through my phone after they give the FREE UPDATE to enable USB streaming.

3. Carplay/Android Auto - Before you bring out the torches and pitchforks, let me explain. Apple does not give out even the rotten core for nothing, so there is a license fee but not sure on Android Auto. I do not agree with a subscription here, but I would pay a reasonable fee for Carplay 1 time as I would like to have it and we all knew we weren't getting it from day ONE. Option to have for a reasonable price is better than nothing.

4. Software updates - Critical patches should always be free, as well as enhancements for existing systems to a point. Drivers+ will be a (2) part system with basic level two functionality like we have now. Enhancements would be making vehicle appear sober while in the lane, and safety updates. The PLUS in + is going to costs us just like Auto Pilot in a Tesla and for good reason. There is an incredible amount of time to code these functions, and resources needed to advance the tech, way more than the non existent profit they made from us.

5. Drive modes - Again time and resources, not everyone needs or wants a snow mode, drift mode, etc. My guess is there is some untapped power available in the Quad system just as the Dual system that is coming. Many people would pay $$ for an extra 100HP for bragging rights, or beating the neighbors Rivian.

Other items like enabling control of the RGB interior, holiday themes and such should be no charge. Small Easter eggs like Halloween theme keep people talking about the brand and is good and cheap PR.

 

[Marchin_MTB]

Typical Rivian strategy of softening the beaches with early ambiguous announcements - then modifying the details based on the reaction of the customer base.

I was thinking this exact thing. seems like Tony gets out there with some vague outlines of a plan and then they wait to see what the backlash feedback is.

 

[GHuff]

Looking at the auto industry as a whole, and having been in and around it for longer than I want to admit, there is a lot they could throw out. Let's look at BMW models they have discussed in a subscription setting. Carplay, heated/cooled seats, remote locking, anti-theft. My daughters previous Tacoma, and now her WRX don't offer a fob to remote start vehicle without connected services package. My Ram has a FOB, but I have to pay if I want send directions to NAV, alarm alerts, theft recovery help, and so on. Every MFG is looking for additional revenue, and a hook to keep people loyal. Below are some things I think they should charge for, if not on list it should just be standard or my some timers kicked in and I forgot to list. Think about vehicles on the secondary market, would be nice to not have to sacrifice on an option you want as 1st owner didn't want to pay for it, but you can get it on a used vehicle?

1. RAN - This should be a trial with all purchased vehicles, then a competitive charge as there are costs involved. Make it better that the other guys, we are paying for electrons somewhere.

2. LTE Hotspot - How many people in the big picture use this? Have had this option in vehicles for years, Hotspot free and included in most cell plans. If you had your preferred streaming service (Apple in my case) I would stream through my phone after they give the FREE UPDATE to enable USB streaming.

3. Carplay/Android Auto - Before you bring out the torches and pitchforks, let me explain. Apple does not give out even the rotten core for nothing, so there is a license fee but not sure on Android Auto. I do not agree with a subscription here, but I would pay a reasonable fee for Carplay 1 time as I would like to have it and we all knew we weren't getting it from day ONE. Option to have for a reasonable price is better than nothing.

4. Software updates - Critical patches should always be free, as well as enhancements for existing systems to a point. Drivers+ will be a (2) part system with basic level two functionality like we have now. Enhancements would be making vehicle appear sober while in the lane, and safety updates. The PLUS in + is going to costs us just like Auto Pilot in a Tesla and for good reason. There is an incredible amount of time to code these functions, and resources needed to advance the tech, way more than the non existent profit they made from us.

5. Drive modes - Again time and resources, not everyone needs or wants a snow mode, drift mode, etc. My guess is there is some untapped power available in the Quad system just as the Dual system that is coming. Many people would pay $$ for an extra 100HP for bragging rights, or beating the neighbors Rivian.

Other items like enabling control of the RGB interior, holiday themes and such should be no charge. Small Easter eggs like Halloween theme keep people talking about the brand and is good and cheap PR.

The difference is the other manufacturers disclosed those paid options / add-ons BEFORE you purchased the vehicle. They didn't sell vehicles with undefined options and start charging a-la-carte for features. These are features, not options. If they start charging for Gear Guard, when everyone would agree that was an included feature of the vehicle, would you not be upset?

 

[RoadRunner]

It is also great how there are NO planned Service Centers in Alaska in the update. In a recent chat they indicated no plan for 2023, thus NO delivery of ANY Rivian's for ANYONE in Alaska for all of 2023.

Looks like they still have nothing planned for New Mexico either...which I figured was the case, but is still a bummer. On the plus side we won't have to worry about paying for any subscriptions for at least a year or two...

 

[opnwide]

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[av8or]

It’s the elusive way car companies are doing this now that bothers people. They tell you all the things the auto can do and that some or all of those things may or may not be part of a subscription at sometime time in the future and at a cost that is TBD. IMHO it should legally have to be spelled out in detail before the manufacturer can sell the vehicle. Do I own the hardware and it’s function like heated seat and steering wheel? How about AC maybe that’s only for those that are willing to pay more? Maybe the stated 835 hp was the subscription hp. ?‍?‍?‍?‍I think some on this forum would be ok if every single function of the vehicle was a subscription. Maybe it should cost $1 per mph for anything over 40, and $10 per launch. It’s a truly slippery slope and I’m not a fan.

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