? *BREAKING* Rivian & VW Announce Joint Venture -- VW Investing $1B in Rivian and another $4B to form JV for next gen EVs

[COdogman]

Diesel emissions fixing.
Never forget.

Your profile says you currently drive a Toyota, who has been one of the major anti-EV lobbyists over the last 10 years. VW has done many bad things in their long existence. No company that has been around as long as they have are totally clean. If their funds keep my favorite EV maker alive for the foreseeable future then I am all about it.

And on another level it shows they (VW) are smart enough to invest in a rising company and learn from them. This may fall apart in short order or it may be a great thing for both companies. ??‍

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[Autolycus]

Whole lot of dreamers in here who are going to be disappointed. Don't hold your breath on this being anything other than exactly what was announced.

 

[Davethadog]

Your profile says you currently drive a Toyota, who has been one of the major anti-EV lobbyists over the last 10 years. VW has done many bad things in their long existence. No company that has been around as long as they have are totally clean. If their funds keep my favorite EV maker alive for the foreseeable future then I am all about it.

And on another level it shows they (VW) are smart enough to invest in a rising company and learn from them. This may fall apart in short order or it may be a great thing for both companies. ??‍

Let’s not forget that the only way any of us have made any sort of long EV journey is because of EA.

 

[mkhuffman]

Let’s not forget that the only way any of us have made any sort of long EV journey is because of EA.

Actually credit Tesla, not EA.

 

[Davethadog]

Actually credit Tesla, not EA.

I have never once plugged my Rivian into a Tesla charger. Up until very recently EA was the only ubiquitous charging option.

 

[mkhuffman]

I have never once plugged my Rivian into a Tesla charger. Up until very recently EA was the only ubiquitous charging option.

What about a Tesla destination EVSE? At the hotel I am staying at tonight, they have six Tesla NACS EVSEs providing 8 kW each. No other options except some 120V outlets. Many, many hotels only have this option.

But BEVs exist not because of the charging options, but because of a visionary company that saw the potential of BEVs for the mass market, and went out and created that market. Now here we are, drafting behind their success. IMO.

 

[Davethadog]

What about a Tesla destination EVSE? At the hotel I am staying at tonight, they have six Tesla NACS EVSEs providing 8 kW each. No other options except some 120V outlets. Many, many hotels only have this option.

But BEVs exist not because of the charging options, but because of a visionary company that saw the potential of BEVs for the mass market, and went out and created that market. Now here we are, drafting behind their success. IMO.

Truthfully never. The only ones I’ve ever used at hotels have been ChargePoint. The Tesla specific chargers were locked to exclude everyone else. Visionary? Sure. Helpful to me? No.

 

[mkhuffman]

Truthfully never. The only ones I’ve ever used at hotels have been ChargePoint. The Tesla specific chargers were locked to exclude everyone else. Visionary? Sure. Helpful to me? No.

That is interesting. I have used them multiple times. No Superchargers yet, because I have not needed a DCFC since I got my adapter. And I also prefer to wait until there is a extension cord so I am not blocking two stalls. But really, charger access is not why I purchased my BEV. And EA isn't why. At all.

 

[strykerwsu]

I can't wait to use a free hotel charger. They don't exist in my part of the country. Just happy last stay had 1 "Universal" that was $.35kwh and was open.

 

[Surferdude]

VW last year announced they are bringing back buttons and knobs to their UI because of common sense. So I hope this partnership means Rivian will ditch their all-screen UI and integrate some buttons and knobs for commonly used controls.

 

[emoore]

VW last year announced they are bringing back buttons and knobs to their UI because of common sense. So I hope this partnership means Rivian will ditch their all-screen UI and integrate some buttons and knobs for commonly used controls.

Doubtful. This probably means less buttons for VW since they will be using Rivians software.

 

[caylan55]

Whole lot of dreamers in here who are going to be disappointed. Don't hold your breath on this being anything other than exactly what was announced.

Not everyone is cut out to dream & dream Big.

 

[Rividiculous]

What's really interesting to me is how this affects how the market views Rivian going forward. The justification for Tesla's outlandish valuation is that they are a software company that builds cars. Now you can easily say the same about Rivian.

Much of the continued optimism in Tesla in spite of economic headwinds is the potential for future licensing of things like FSD. Now Rivian can point investors to the fact that they sold their software stack to one of the largest and most established auto manufacturers in the world. That's quite a story to tell, if I'm honest.

Sometimes events like this begin to create their own momentum.

Put more crassly: “Who’s the AI company now, biotch?!”

 

[ryunited]

This is great news and makes so much sense for both parties - and my fave part is that it is software based, with Rivian extracting value for software they already developed.

If it gets them through R3 manufacture in Georgia - as it seems to do at minimum based on the $3B. It's all you need.

AND if the JV at some point leads to some VW (Scout?) volume helping cover overheads there too? Chef kiss.

But oof, If the JV were to lead to R2 and 3 manufacturing in Europe sooner? Vince McMahon meme.

 

[Rividiculous]

VW has done many bad things in their long existence.

Oh boy, have they ever!


I agree with your point though and, in spite of the company’s dark origin story, I’m actually a VW fan. Germany may be farther from that dark place than we are. The world is a complicated place.

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