New video "Let's Just Drive" & official letter from RJ provides huge update!

[DuckTruck]

Yeah he completely sidestepped the privacy question.

i will be interested to see how they handle the stricter privacy rules outside of the US.

Oops! I see in my previous response that I also sidestepped the privacy issues. Being in the insurance industry and a news/documentary junkie, this is a more global issue beyond just Rivian and their insurance partners. Telemetrics, and cameras, and cell phones, and doorbells, and smart assistants, etc. that can track our every move and record our voice and images should always be a concern.

From my standpoint, that ship sailed well over a decade ago. It's not a question of can we be tracked, rather to what degree and by whom. If Edword Snoden (that'll throw them off) and his revelations years ago didn't open our eyes, they should be wide open now.

That said, if you think I'm paranoid, you should the little men who follow me wherever I go! ?

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[DuckTruck]

Or “Here, hold my beer”

Still, that's probably better than saying "Hey, Alexa, please engage Driver+ and I'll climb into the back seat to use the Gear Tunnel access portal to place my beer back in its proper cooling device!"

 

[DuckTruck]

"Hey Bruce, we gave you the wrong truck. I need to return this to Normal."

*searching for how to pull off an RJ costume*

Any Clark Kent costume should do the trick.

Dammit! Now I have another earworm stuck in my head! Oh well, this is one of my favorite songs to crank up upon discovering an uncrowded scenic backroad....

Crank it up and go!

 

[PastyPilgrim]

I'm definitely hoping for more info about privacy commitments before confirming my order. Security, data integrity, data stewardship, etc. are incredibly challenging things to get right, and I'm a little concerned that Rivian is trying to push data integration so hard fresh out of the gate. Like we don't even know how many miles of range the cars get, or what all of the paint colors actually look like, but we know every car is beaming 11 different video angles, multiple audio sources, gps, and tons of telemetry back to Rivian with integrations with insurance, Amazon, and more.

Trillion dollar companies struggle to get it right and this is *a lot* of data to trust with a startup that hasn't shown a single piece of software yet.

 

[Headingley]

No tank turn! This was one of the features I really wanted. Based on what I heard today this might not make it in... Maybe reading too much into the video as they admittedly did say it would make it in...

I live in a flat location with long cold winters and thought this would be a cool feature.

I don't know why they're so concerned about implementing this....before engaging this feature the software should just prompt you about the appropriate considerations.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I felt like RJ glossed over this a little bit. He talked about the tie in to Insurance but I wanted a little bit more firm answer about being able to view and download videos from the system. Maybe not from an accident.... Say I drive a cool trail and want to grab some footage.... or more of a sentry mode where the car is parked. He talked about an accident but didn't really clarify control of the footage or if it will indeed monitor the car while parked. And I agree it definitely bring's up privacy concerns for some folks if the insurance companies can just grab the data for themselves...

HUGE privacy concerns for me. I was also surprised to hear that the cameras not only record all the time, but that Rivian will be able to see that footage to map trails "like Google Street View". There needs to be clarifications and disclosure on exactly how and when camera footage is uploaded to Rivian, and whether we can limit that use.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Don’t see why it would be any different than wiring for a generator. The key apparatus is a transfer switch Which doesn’t really care what the power source is.

The issue I foresee is that the Rivian is unlikely to be able to provide enough power to handle the load from the entire house. It's more likely that you'll have to choose a few circuits that can transfer (lights, refrigerator -- things like that) but you may not be able to transfer over an electric water heater or central air conditioner.

That means you can't just install a basic transfer switch, but instead need one that also includes a mini load-center. The circuits you want to be transferred will have to be moved from your main load center (electrical panel) and into the new "transfer" panel. When the transfer switch is activated, only those circuits will be powered by the vehicle.

So there is definitely some added cost for the extra load center and wiring -- but the bigger cost is the labor, unless you are comfortable doing that sort of work yourself.

My parents ran into this conundrum when they purchased a whole-home LP generator for their rural home. They could step up to a larger generator and run the whole home and have a more simple and less expensive installation, or they could use a smaller generator to run only part of the home, but the installation was more expensive.

It's definitely possible... Just saying it will cost more.

 

[flabyboy]

I’m curious. What is the rationale for $3500 extra for certain colors?

 

[Eager2own]

I’m curious. What is the rationale for $3500 extra for certain colors?

Profit.

 

[Atlrivian]

The issue I foresee is that the Rivian is unlikely to be able to provide enough power to handle the load from the entire house. It's more likely that you'll have to choose a few circuits that can transfer (lights, refrigerator -- things like that) but you may not be able to transfer over an electric water heater or central air conditioner.

That means you can't just install a basic transfer switch, but instead need one that also includes a mini load-center. The circuits you want to be transferred will have to be moved from your main load center (electrical panel) and into the new "transfer" panel. When the transfer switch is activated, only those circuits will be powered by the vehicle.

So there is definitely some added cost for the extra load center and wiring -- but the bigger cost is the labor, unless you are comfortable doing that sort of work yourself.

My parents ran into this conundrum when they purchased a whole-home LP generator for their rural home. They could step up to a larger generator and run the whole home and have a more simple and less expensive installation, or they could use a smaller generator to run only part of the home, but the installation was more expensive.

It's definitely possible... Just saying it will cost more.

There is so a much cheaper solution called an interlock. It is a manual switch (compared to the automatic transfer switch). You would need to manually select which breakers you want to turn on or off before switching to generator power so you don't overload the generator. Even installed by an electrician could be $500-1000 depending on your current setup and equipment costs.

 

[KeithPleas]

People are way too hung up in this. The electrical work you’ll need to do to your home will be seriously expensive. Then you won’t be able to have a back up unless you are home. What happens when you’re at work with your truck and your family is home? You need to leave early to get home? Also, what if you need to leave home?

Where I think this COULD be interesting is an off-the-grid cabin. You arrive for the weekend...plug in and power the cabin. If you leave to go to town...run a trail...whatever...I guess folks come with you or do without power until you get back.

But for a house? They aren't thinking this through. I just put in a whole house generator for my dual 200a service. Electrical work was $4k, service-rated transfer switch another $1.5k. Even there I'm only backing up one panel (with a couple of load shedding modules).

 

[electruck]

I’m curious. What is the rationale for $3500 extra for certain colors?

Not sure if that was just a typo on your part but the premium colors are only $2500 extra. Still expensive and doesn't change the nature of your question but wanted to call that out.

 

[crashmtb]

No tank turn! This was one of the features I really wanted. Based on what I heard today this might not make it in... Maybe reading too much into the video as they admittedly did say it would make it in...

I live in a flat location with long cold winters and thought this would be a cool feature.

I don't know why they're so concerned about implementing this....before engaging this feature the software should just prompt you about the appropriate considerations.

I live in the same flat, cold place and am looking forward to “tank turn”. Sounds like it will come later once they figure out how to not have people tearing stuff up. seems like a ticket to broken half shafts and CV joints.

It shouldn’t be too hard to get it to rotate within its own wheelbase without a dedicated mode, though.

 

[Eager2own]

Not sure if that was just a typo on your part but the premium colors are only $2500 extra. Still expensive and doesn't change the nature of your question but wanted to call that out.

I agree $3,500 to change paint for the full truck would be ridiculous.
People should only pay that kind of money if they are Launch Edition holders wanting black instead of silver 20” wheels.

Note: I realize it’s comments like this that will ensure I’m never invited to an early “nothing-but-praise” fan event. I guess I’m still hoping that Rivian will change pricing on black wheels for LE to only be the $1,700 for the color change and not the $3,500 that includes the $1,800 that should be free for LE customers.

 

[EarlyAdptr]

Profit.

Profit

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