Tesla engineer urges Rivian to move charge port location on R2, R3, R3X for Supercharger access

[RIVIANR1SGTR]

Getting tired of Tesla, the money given to you was to accommodate all EV's, so put longer charging cords......... NACS doesn't necessarily mean use the Tesla Network.

EA get your damn act together

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[Blueassassin]

I don't plan on using a Tesla charger im good with it right where it is.

 

[brancky3]

I really disliked the fact that the charging port was at the rear in my old Tesla. It's cumbersome to have to back into EVERY charging spot, not to mention in crowded parking garage charging locations it's downright scary watching people try to back in to a spot.

 

[Fmc]

I was ready this day.

 

[emoore]

how is this typical RAN going to work for passenger-side/ rear? Rivian needs to reconsider R2-R3 chargepoint location

You pull up to the trailer RAN station from the right side.

 

[foxerson]

IMHO this should be the same as gas stations with long cables, with cars having the gas lid on either side of the car depending on the make.

^^ +1 ^^
Seems to me that gas stations solved this problem long ago. ICE cars are split between passenger and driver side fuel inlets. Put public chargers on an island with lanes on either side so that drivers can pull up to whichever side corresponds to their vehicle.

If it is a busy site or is configured for one-way traffic then add long cables, just like some gas stations with long hoses, so that either side will work.

Added bonus: vehicles pulling trailers can just pull through.

 

[carsly]

Somewhere on the driver's side >> passenger side because the car will always contain a driver who will eventually plug in a charge cable. I'm all for less cabling and lower resistance losses and heat (which only hurts DCFC speed) and if Rivian wants to adopt NACS, go all the way or don't go at all.

If I"m Tesla, I'd rather block R2's and R3's from charging at all if the charge port is in an improper location. Problem solved for everyone!

 

[Longreach]

The fundamental use case question for port location needs to be considered: Who inevitably plugs in the charge cable? The driver!

Therefore for convenience the port should be as close to the driver door as possible, meaning on the drivers side, preferably in the quarter panel. Most ICE fillers (North America) are in the rear quarter panel for driver convenience, and many charge ports are on the front quarter panel for the same reason.

I’ve had ICE vehicles where I haven’t “visited” the passenger side for years! Driver convenience should be the main reason for port location, and charging infrastructure must evolve to accommodate that user priority just as gas stations have done for ICE over the years. Don’t let the tail wag the dog!

 

[srkz]

I understand that rear ones allow less wiring inside the vehicle (cheaper) but I hate backing into parking spots. Why do truck drivers appear to prefer that? It beats me.

Personally, I like to look at the lines in the 360-view camera to make sure I'm lined up and centered in the space, since it's such a large vehicle. Reverse pulls up the cameras automatically, so it's one fewer button for me to press.

In a smaller vehicle it doesn't really matter if you're perfectly centered so I care less, but the R1T basically fills the entire space even when you get it just right, so I try to get it just right.

 

[emoore]

Somewhere on the driver's side >> passenger side because the car will always contain a driver who will eventually plug in a charge cable. I'm all for less cabling and lower resistance losses and heat (which only hurts DCFC speed) and if Rivian wants to adopt NACS, go all the way or don't go at all.

If I"m Tesla, I'd rather block R2's and R3's from charging at all if the charge port is in an improper location. Problem solved for everyone!

Wouldn't be surprised if Tesla pulled some BS like this and still claim it's an open network.

 

[carsly]

Wouldn't be surprised if Tesla pulled some BS like this and still claim it's an open network.

"open" refers to the NACS standard. Tesla paid to build out the Supercharger network over a decade - no one is forced to use it. However, putting in some ground rules for use make sense in order to ensure a high-quality experience for everyone - including Tesla owners (of which there are millions as compared to tens of thousands of Rivian owners).

Now it looks like Tesla will be offering a NACS to NACS extension cable which clears the issue, but I'd expect slower charging speeds with a non-actively cooled extension cable. Maybe it doesn't matter with R2 and R3 which will probably have smaller packs and lower peak charging speeds.

 

[White Shadow]

Is anyone here old enough to remember when many cars had their gas caps in the center of the back of the vehicle? Sometimes even hidden under the license plate? Why can't EVs be made with a charge port dead center above the back bumper? It would solve all kinds of problems with cables reaching and taking up adjacent spots when charging.

 

[Better Late than Never]

Rivian fa

Wes Morrill, lead engineer for the Cybertruck, just tweeted this:

@RJScaringe @nkalayjian cool product. Great looking prototypes. I know how these things go, there is still time to move the charge port location. It will take some re-engineering but the tools are not kicked off yet. This location will forever doom all Rivian owners to be the jerk taking two spots at a Tesla charger, don't do that to your customers. I know the Rivian network has been installed to support the front left/rear right but there are <500 adventure network fast charge handles vs more than 50,000 supercharger handles. You've done the right thing for customers moving to NACS, take it the last mile and put it in a location that works seamlessly with existing infrastructure. Can be the front right if you are trying to optimize for street parking. Looking forward to charging harmoniously with a great looking EV.​

Here's the current charger port location on the R2 and R3.

Completly agree, this is silly and there's plenty of time to fix it. When I saw it, I thought I was looking at a mirror image or maybe a European model and the drier was on the right. Feels like a big whiff on the part of Rivian. Forget about tesla, it's just an inconvenient location, as far from the driver as possible.

I don't understand how it would inconvenience current customers.

 

[Better Late than Never]

Is anyone here old enough to remember when many cars had their gas caps in the center of the back of the vehicle? Sometimes even hidden under the license plate? Why can't EVs be made with a charge port dead center above the back bumper? It would solve all kinds of problems with cables reaching and taking up adjacent spots when charging.

No, but I've seen Family Vacation so I know what you mean.

 

[supernu8]

EV manufacturers should have the design freedom to put the charge ports wherever they feel is right for their design and customers. Charging stalls that service multiple brands need to be able to accommodate any EV that pulls up. Tesla knows this hence the taller V4 hardware with longer cables.

This engineer just wants attention.

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