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

[Cascadian]

Nothing. But with a trailer, this means disconnecting prior to charging. Same with 2 bikes on a hitch-mounted bike rack

coming from a 99% of the time back-in parker

I have a 3 bike rack

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[dleepnw]

Am I only the one who now looks forward to parking in the “wrong” spot even more?

dont buy a Rivian then

 

[Mathme]

Most of the L2 home chargers come with a 24' charge cord which is typically enough to reach both stalls in a 2-car garage (one car may have to back in).

I'm also of the belief that Tesla is opening up their chargers for non-tesla vehicles. If my vehicle doesn't completely fit the standard layout, I'll try to find a space that is the least disruptive. however, as the end used, it's not my fault the cords are so short that they won't reach very far and the Tesla drivers shouldn't get mad at the end user--they should direct their angst toward Tesla for the design and set-up.

//rant-off

 

[jambaman84]

Rivian definitely needed to put the charging station on the rear driver side. It really defies logic that they would do it on the passenger side.
RJ said rear passenger because people can back into their garages and it would be the same location.. but that's the dumbest excuse to put it there. Now I would have to back into my spot when if it was in the drivers side, the cable could easily reach there anyways... sigh. Hope they change it.

 

[pricedm]

Rivian definitely needed to put the charging station on the rear driver side. It really defies logic that they would do it on the passenger side.
RJ said rear passenger because people can back into their garages and it would be the same location.. but that's the dumbest excuse to put it there. Now I would have to back into my spot when if it was in the drivers side, the cable could easily reach there anyways... sigh. Hope they change it.

Yeah... My rear-driver side charge port works great in my garage. My home EVSE is located front/center of the garage. Right side parking spot (from car's perspecitve, entering), park head-in. Left side parking spot, back in.

This way both rear-driver side charge ports are in the center of the garage. Easy to reach with 20-24FT cord on the charger

 

[JamuJoe]

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.

I realize that the R2 isn’t exactly a tow vehicle, but the drivers side front charge port was key to my being able to make 26 DCFC stops on our recent 3800 mi trip towing our Airstream and only having to unhitch the trailer once.

 

[wolfsbane]

Please excuse this n00b for not understanding why a non-Tesla has to take up two spaces.

For design, I understand the passenger side vs driver side argument for theoretical future road side charging situations, even if those are currently rare. But I also understand the driver side argument for convenience of the driver- same as most ICE vehicles now.

For design, I understand the front vs back argument for EVs that tow trailers and wouldn't be able to back into a public charging spot unless they unhitch, even though there currently aren't many EV owners who tow anything besides some Rivian and cybertruck drivers, but that number will continue to grow. Perhaps passthrough lanes for charging, like gas stations, will start to become more common in the future.

I don't think I understand the home charging setup argument though. People could have their charger installed on the left or right side of their garage. It could depend on port placement on their first EV they owned, the previous owner of the house if they had one installed before they moved in, the location of the house's electrical panel and cost of installation, etc. So what? People could drive in or back into their driveway or garage if they need to. No matter what EV you have currently, or where your current charger is at your house, you should be able to charge at home, regardless, right? Or are some people just really averse to the possibility of backing into their driveway or garage?

 

[HyperionMark]

Have owned 7 plug in vehicles with ports in various places:
1 Prius Plug In - back passenger
2 Nissan Leaf - front middle
3 Tesla - back driver
1 Rivian - front driver

The back passenger position for a port is by far the worst position. Please remember that 90% of charging events for most people will be at home. This means walking to the opposite corner of the vehicle every single time (not to mention bending way over with it being so low).

I absolutely love almost everything about the R2 and R3, but that port position may almost be a deal breaker. Makes very little sense. Has to be a cost thing I guess for them.

 

[Supratachophobia]

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.

Says the guy partially responsible for the atrocity that is the Cybertruck.....

 

[HyperionMark]

Says the guy partially responsible for the atrocity that is the Cybertruck.....

Nah, that was Elon's giant ego. This guy had to salvage it as a somewhat decent vehicle.

 

[MGA]

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!

What about street chargers? If you drive on the right side, hence the location should be on that side.

 

[gultin]

I have mixed feelings on this. Partly because any rear port location, no matter which side, is not great when towing or when you have a hitch accessory.

Say that you have that rear box accessory Rivian showed in the release. I don’t see how you position to a Tesla or RAN charger this way. And if the cable does just barely reach, positioning the vehicle to within 5mm of a bollard is no fun.

or consider something like the pull through RAN in salida. I don’t think you can pull up to it from the passenger side without the trailer being in the street, or at least in the sidewalk.

that said, I do like backing in (when not towing).

In the ideal world, all DCFC cabinets would be pull through with enough space front and back for a car and trailer so it wouldn’t matter where your port was, but we do not live in this utopia.

There are way too many car designs and use cases, which is why the only reasonable solution IMO to this is to have long enough cables that can reach anywhere. Gas stations figured this out a long time ago. Tesla simply can't expect others to shoehorn into their myopic vision.

 

[SRO]

Longer cords means more copper to deal with increased resistance. It hurts efficiency and increases the cost of cord vandalism and theft. Moreover, it increases the value to thieves.

I know it would add cost but I'd love two charge ports, one on each front quarter panel.

Can Rivian provide an adapter with a heavy duty pig tail? 6’ should do it. It would store in the frunk.

 

[ksurfier]

Why on the side???
Just put it in the middle front?
Then you can access RAN and Tesla, no?

 

[kvenom]

What if I want to be a jerk to Tesla customers?

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