Check out the updated RAN map at the Rivian website!

[bigsky]

The build out is great, but they have to do something about the cost! I'll charge at any Tesla charger over RAN, just because of cost.

Yeah!
It's the American way after all, for god's sake!
We demand and expect and seek out and patronize those establishments that offer goods and services at low or lower prices,

Sponsored

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Utah Rivian current and future owners will be agog!

While I don’t understand why the operational RAN station in Durango CO isn’t listed on the map - even as an upcoming location - but is listed in the vehicle and phone app map, I just looked carefully at the website map!

Holy smokes there are 6! planned stations in Utah alone! The Salt Lake one has been there but now’s 5 more! Green River and Moab and others.

in Cali, there’s one in Irvine a mile away from me and one in Orange, Temecula, Jacumba and Mammoth! Even one in Casa Grande AZ. What no Tucson yet?

Anyway check out the website! You’ll be pleasantly surprised unless there aren’t new ones planned near you yet.

Interesting that they chose Irvine Spectrum. That mall has a Supercharger that is open to non-Teslas... though I haven't tried it. Comments online regarding parking structure validation is a bit confusing.

 

[SwampNut]

The one in Casa Grande, AZ is actually Maricopa.

What a bizarre location. I’ve been running around this state for over three decades, doing business and installations all over, and have no idea what’s out there. Do you know the logic or what’s there?

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

What a bizarre location. I’ve been running around this state for over three decades, doing business and installations all over, and have no idea what’s out there. Do you know the logic or what’s there?

You're absolutely right—it's honestly mind-blowing. I can’t believe it either. It makes no sense at all. No one traveling from San Diego to Arizona or heading toward Texas would ever use that location. And vice versa. There’s already a Rivian Adventure Network site in Gila Bend! Just look at this photo—it's in the middle of nowhere. No attractions, no trails, no reason to stop. It’s completely off the grid. It’s... bizarre.

 

[SwampNut]

You're absolutely right—it's honestly mind-blowing. I can’t believe it either. It makes no sense at all. No one traveling from San Diego to Arizona or heading toward Texas would ever use that location. And vice versa. There’s already a Rivian Adventure Network site in Gila Bend! Just look at this photo—it's in the middle of nowhere. No attractions, no trails, no reason to stop. It’s completely off the grid. It’s... bizarre.

We REALLY need a good charger around Casa Grande on the interstate. If you're towing to/from Tucson, you're boned. Ask me how I know. EVERY.DAMN.EA station has a problem, every time.

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

What a bizarre location. I’ve been running around this state for over three decades, doing business and installations all over, and have no idea what’s out there. Do you know the logic or what’s there?

I think I figured it out! It is located inside the Ak-chin Indian Reservation?

EDIT: Maybe not. IDK. If they wanted it on the reservation, it would have been at the casino....roll on....OR it is next to the new Rivian proving grounds, which there is at least 2 others within a couple miles of there ...AND of course it is 5 minutes from the Lucid manufacturing plant in Casa Grande.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I think I figured it out! It is located inside the Ak-chin Indian Reservation?

EDIT: Maybe not. IDK. If they wanted it on the reservation, it would have been at the casino....roll on....OR it is next to the new Rivian proving grounds, which there is at least 2 others within a couple miles of there ...AND of course it is 5 minutes from the Lucid manufacturing plant in Casa Grande.

Middle of nowhere usually mean cheap land.

 

[DuoRivian]

They need to do more through MC and Sc to help complete the I95 east coast route (two in Maine are great). Also I76 and 70 to get across to the mid west are needed. They have started that route from Philadelphia and maybe in the next big update in a few months since the west and CA got a lot of love this time.

 

[desir3]

I said it before but I don’t understand the continued investment in RAN.

The barrier to entry for someone with a parking lot to installing a DCFC or a level 2 charger is just desire, a little cash, and the ability to email Chargepoint, AmpUp, or any of the other vendors.

It’s a low margin business, more expensive for them to site and install than that competition, and I don’t see how they are likely to get to the economies of scale manufacturing their own DFCF to make it profitable enough to spend time and attention on.

Right now EV charging outside home is completely broken except for Tesla. Having an in-house charging station allows Rivian to create a better experience for its users; especially with things like Outposts. A charging network is a massive differentiator for an EV maker in USA right now. Plus its a good business over time, something that could turn decently substantial as it opens up to every EV. I calculated once, equipment and all costs about 250-300K for a RAN site with 6 stalls. 200 such sites would be 50M-60M; that's nothing for even Rivian. But it provides a massive upside - consumer confidence.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Right now EV charging outside home is completely broken except for Tesla. Having an in-house charging station allows Rivian to create a better experience for its users; especially with things like Outposts. A charging network is a massive differentiator for an EV maker in USA right now. Plus its a good business over time, something that could turn decently substantial as it opens up to every EV. I calculated once, equipment and all costs about 250-300K for a RAN site with 6 stalls. 200 such sites would be 50M-60M; that's nothing for even Rivian. But it provides a massive upside - consumer confidence.

Generalization. Depends on where you are. Some parts of the country are underserved by Tesla. And some parts of the country have sites operated by other networks that are just as large and reliable as Tesla. But if you were to take coast-to-coast average, Tesla does have an edge because they had head start on building their network. That lead will change with time, especially if Musk continues to ignore the only part of his company that is seeing revenue growth, in favor of hubris (Optimus, FSD, taxis, AI…).

 

[desir3]

Need better coverage in WY, ND and SD. Also need something close to Glacier NP.

Lots to see and nowhere to charge fast....

Glacier deserves an outpost with 15 charging stalls from the get-go. Then Yellowstone. Then Grand-Canyon. This is the best branding move for Rivian to standout from the crowd. Rivian should also try partnering with states that still kept their state parks to install 2-3 stalls in the parking lot. CA has many state parks near urban areas that are slowly turning into a KOA village, their is no dearth of electricity, its just good business for everyone.

 

[therealcmj]

Right now EV charging outside home is completely broken except for Tesla.

Seriously? I don't (yet) have at home charging (very long story. Don't ask. the amount of effort I've spent on it hurts) and I charge at 4 or 5 different brands of level 2 and 3 chargers. They all work incredibly easily and are no more complicated than filling up with gasoline was.

Having an in-house charging station allows Rivian to create a better experience for its users; especially with things like Outposts.

How is RAN a better experience than the plug and charge experience with by Rivian charging at Tesla or EVGo or anyone else who supports the plug and charge standard?

A charging network is a massive differentiator for an EV maker in USA right now.

This may have been true when chargers were few and far between. But now? Really? If anything it's the other way around. People who don't have EVs see that Rivian has a charging network and think that's the only place they can charge. In fact when I got my R1S I had to explain to my mother that no, I didn't need to find a Rivian station and I could charge anywhere including Tesla stations.

Plus its a good business over time, something that could turn decently substantial as it opens up to every EV. I calculated once, equipment and all costs about 250-300K for a RAN site with 6 stalls. 200 such sites would be 50M-60M; that's nothing for even Rivian. But it provides a massive upside - consumer confidence.

I disagree. The only barriers to entry for opening your own DC Fast Charging station is having cash (or enough credit) to pay for a station + its installation and a parking lot to put it in. Literally anyone can open a DCFC station with Chargepoint or Ampup or a bunch of others by signing a contract and writing a check. Which means that over time the margin on selling electrons will should wind up being 1-2 percent... just like gasoline. Or less since most people who need a DCFC and stop to charge will be there for 30 mins. So they'll pop into your store and buy something else.

Designing, certifying, and manufacturing your own DC fast charger hardware is a bunch of money and you're very unlikely to get to the same scale as even a 3rd tier vendor. But even in their rosiest predictions Rivian doesn't claim they'll ever get to anywhere near that scale.

For remote locations Tesla has a clear advantage of their own (cheap) solar panels, experience combining batteries into packs for fixed locations, experience siting and negotiating deals, and the economies of scale of doing all of that thousands of times. If anything they'd be the ones to make money on putting a charging location in a parking lot in a far off park with no or limited electrical infrastructure.


So it might be profitable in the short term. But definitely less so over the medium term. And in the long term it sure looks like a bad business to be in.

 

[SwampNut]

If they wanted it on the reservation, it would have been at the casino....

Well, it would still be nothing like the gambling you do when you attempt to charge at EA.

 

[Erik+]

Utah Rivian current and future owners will be agog!

While I don’t understand why the operational RAN station in Durango CO isn’t listed on the map - even as an upcoming location - but is listed in the vehicle and phone app map, I just looked carefully at the website map!

Holy smokes there are 6! planned stations in Utah alone! The Salt Lake one has been there but now’s 5 more! Green River and Moab and others.

in Cali, there’s one in Irvine a mile away from me and one in Orange, Temecula, Jacumba and Mammoth! Even one in Casa Grande AZ. What no Tucson yet?

Anyway check out the website! You’ll be pleasantly surprised unless there aren’t new ones planned near you yet.

Monticello not Moab.

We also have lots of the waypoint network chargers in the state parks in CO. I believe they have some sort of agreement for prioritizing their installs there.

 

[ahoover]

Why are there no RAN chargers in Salem, Oregon? It is the state capital and there are a ton of R1S/T here. You would think that along with that the north/south traffic on I5 would have created charging demand on this driving corridor.

Sponsored