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

[shandel]

Tesla could actually put longer cords in like they've said they are going to.

THIS is the real issue to fix.

Sponsored

 

[SoCal Rob]

There is zero, and I mean zero, justification for having the charge port anywhere on the driver side given 99.9% of us parallel park with the sidewalk on the pasenger side. Neither Rivian nor Tesla really thought it out but hey, hindsight. Respect RJ but R2 charge port location continues with the Tesla screw you/denial that Rivian owners will/would use Tesla charging locations. And it goes both ways...RAN will be open to other vehicles so why not adopt both NACS AND the existing charge port location as defaults.

In order for wide EV adoption standards have to be implemented. Tesla was there first and so their engineer is absolutely right that with saturation, taking up two spots is idiotic. Rivian and other car manufacturers need to stop being cute and face the reality that a seamless charging experience at a Tesla SC is the way forward. Tesla having to install longer cables due to this rediclousness is a poor fix.

Ultimately Rivian's ego is hurting, not helping its customers.

There’s a pretty logical justification: charging in tight spaces. A driver’s side port will almost never cause you to have to choose between either exiting your vehicle or charging it.

There are situations where people have just enough room for the width of the vehicle plus space for the driver to open their door. In those cases, you must leave enough space on the driver’s side to open your door to exit and enter the vehicle and with the charge port on the driver’s side you should always have adequate space to walk to and reach a charge port on the driver’s side of the vehicle.

Being able to walk to and reach a port on the passenger’s side is more likely to be a problem in tight spaces like this. I park in a garage just a couple inches away from cabinets on the front and on the passenger side so I couldn’t access a charge port at passenger front at all and while I could reach one at the back there probably isn’t enough space to get the charger in the port.

 

[Marchin_MTB]

There is zero, and I mean zero, justification for having the charge port anywhere on the driver side given 99.9% of us parallel park with the sidewalk on the pasenger side. Neither Rivian nor Tesla really thought it out but hey, hindsight. Respect RJ but R2 charge port location continues with the Tesla screw you/denial that Rivian owners will/would use Tesla charging locations. And it goes both ways...RAN will be open to other vehicles so why not adopt both NACS AND the existing charge port location as defaults.

In order for wide EV adoption standards have to be implemented. Tesla was there first and so their engineer is absolutely right that with saturation, taking up two spots is idiotic. Rivian and other car manufacturers need to stop being cute and face the reality that a seamless charging experience at a Tesla SC is the way forward. Tesla having to install longer cables due to this rediclousness is a poor fix.

Ultimately Rivian's ego is hurting, not helping its customers.

Ok but don’t they need to install longer cables anyway to accommodate the cybertruck? that vehicle can just barely charge at a V3 SUC with the tailgate up. Once you’re actually using the full bed or carrying bikes, it’s not possible.

 

[docwhiz]

RJ addressed this in an interview with Eletrek:
* They don't want to fuck over existing Rivian owners with their home charging setup
* It's cheaper for them for the single motor version since they don't have to run as much HV wiring
* The Tesla cable reaches fine as-is because the port is close enough to the back corner


My own opinion: Tesla put it in the wrong spot to begin with. If you want charging in the side of the roads to be reasonable (L2 chargers at every light pole!), for those that don't have garages, you want the port on the passenger side. Plus, there's already a ton of other cars with the same problem at current Superchargers and the cables already need to and will be changing for the V4 cabinets.

 

[KidThunder]

Totally agree - my last EV had the charge port on the passenger side and it was irritating. The R1T location is fine, you still have to move around the door, but it makes much more sense to standardize if you're designing a new vehicle. This will help all infrastructure building for EV chargers so they don't have to account for them to be anywhere.

 

[Tahoe Man]

RJ addressed this in an interview with Eletrek:
* They don't want to fuck over existing Rivian owners with their home charging setup
* It's cheaper for them for the single motor version since they don't have to run as much HV wiring
* The Tesla cable reaches fine as-is because the port is close enough to the back corner


My own opinion: Tesla put it in the wrong spot to begin with. If you want charging in the side of the roads to be reasonable (L2 chargers at every light pole!), for those that don't have garages, you want the port on the passenger side. Plus, there's already a ton of other cars with the same problem at current Superchargers and the cables already need to and will be changing for the V4 cabinets.

The vast majority of charging is done at home. I'd prefer it on the driver's side.
After plugging in my phevs about 3000 times over 150k miles, being on the driver's side means I don't have to walk around to plug in, cumulatively wasting a lot of time. I don't want to give up this convenience because others live in apartments, make them walk around.

 

[Supratachophobia]

There is zero, and I mean zero, justification for having the charge port anywhere on the driver side given 99.9% of us parallel park with the sidewalk on the pasenger side. Neither Rivian nor Tesla really thought it out but hey, hindsight. Respect RJ but R2 charge port location continues with the Tesla screw you/denial that Rivian owners will/would use Tesla charging locations. And it goes both ways...RAN will be open to other vehicles so why not adopt both NACS AND the existing charge port location as defaults.

In order for wide EV adoption standards have to be implemented. Tesla was there first and so their engineer is absolutely right that with saturation, taking up two spots is idiotic. Rivian and other car manufacturers need to stop being cute and face the reality that a seamless charging experience at a Tesla SC is the way forward. Tesla having to install longer cables due to this rediclousness is a poor fix.

Ultimately Rivian's ego is hurting, not helping its customers.

Your assumption is flawed. 99.9% of people aren't doing street charging. They are doing residence, pull-in parking spot, or pull through charging stations. I get it that street parking charging was once thought of as being a thing. But the logistics alone for sidewalk easements have proven it's just not a thing to plan around. And yes, as a Tesla owner who has watched Model 3 behavior, I do wish to take up two spots with a Rivian and watch the tears flow, @DuoRivians

 

[NY_Rob]

It's going to be um.. "interesting" when the SC's open up to Rivian and a Tesla parks next to one expecting an available charger because the parking spot in front of the stand is open

 

[Supratachophobia]

It's going to be um.. "interesting" when the SC's open up to Rivian and a Tesla parks next to one expecting an available charger because the parking spot in front of the stand is open

It's going to be a new verb, "you've been RJ'd"

 

[NY_Rob]

It's going to be a new verb, "you've been RJ'd"

More like a non-complimentary adjective...

 

[iBang]

What’s wrong with backing into a spot? You’re going to have to back out of it.

We can't back into our garage. I might be able to to it with great caution but my wife won't be able to do it. Our two car garage with Tesla Model S taking half is pretty tight.

 

[iBang]

Having a charge port in the passenger rear side is the stupidest idea I've ever heard. Tesla has valid concern. We should adopt to Tesla standard since we are using their chargers. You don't want to follow Tesla standard? then build your own 10000 chargers otherwise don't whine.

 

[Arbitrator]

There is zero, and I mean zero, justification for having the charge port anywhere on the driver side given 99.9% of us parallel park with the sidewalk on the pasenger side. Neither Rivian nor Tesla really thought it out but hey, hindsight. Respect RJ but R2 charge port location continues with the Tesla screw you/denial that Rivian owners will/would use Tesla charging locations. And it goes both ways...RAN will be open to other vehicles so why not adopt both NACS AND the existing charge port location as defaults.

In order for wide EV adoption standards have to be implemented. Tesla was there first and so their engineer is absolutely right that with saturation, taking up two spots is idiotic. Rivian and other car manufacturers need to stop being cute and face the reality that a seamless charging experience at a Tesla SC is the way forward. Tesla having to install longer cables due to this rediclousness is a poor fix.

Ultimately Rivian's ego is hurting, not helping its customers.

 

[Supratachophobia]

More like a non-complimentary adjective...

Oh looks like we have a grammar badass here....

 

[Arbitrator]

The biggest obstacle to wide adoption of EV’s are the issues regarding charging. The cost saving associated with putting charging ports in locations that are not easily accessible or easy to use is a foolish way to proceed. Rivian, please keep it simple and locate the charging ports where they are most convenient and usable. It appears that either front left or right are the best choices. The stupidest way to proceed is to save money, which is probably single digit dollars and frustrate consumers every time they have to charge their vehicle. If this was a case study in business school Rivian would get an “F” for this decision.

Sponsored