How is Rivian going to make up the loss?

[eggpaul]

Close up the Zen meditation center in Venice and focus on trucks?

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[RivChris]

Something I wonder is if Rivian thought they needed a 20% increase to stay profitable, and they're probably 2? years away from making it out of pre-orders (assuming most uncancel), how are they going to make up the projected loss?

You can also factor in the short term damage they caused with this debacle.

Are we going to see corners cut? Are they going to start dropping features, events, etc.. and adding less new features?

If they felt they could absorb the loss I don't see why they would have made the decision in the first place. So how are they going to find ways to make up the difference?

I was wondering the same thing. I haven't seen the subscription price yet, wondering if that will increase or if they'll lock new options behind a fee (tank turn?), charge more for RAN charging? I don't believe for a second that there will not be an attempt to recoup this money somehow.

An interesting thought.. would you rather pay 15k more up front or 15k more over the life of the vehicle? /shrug

I'd probably prefer over the life of the vehicle but I also dislike monthly payments...

 

[Trandall]

Close up the Zen meditation center in Venice and focus on trucks?

You beat me to it. Cut out the goat yoga bs and quit operating Hubs, and repurpose the Forever Foundation (whatever the hell it's called) to building service centers and RAN. Also charge other manufactures for use of RAN. Also I would immediately take down the pricing they have listed on the configurator that are for vehicles 2 years out (Did they seriously learn NOTHING this week). Hire someone capable of handling communications. I could go on....

 

[Monkey]

Yeah this will definitely slow their Forever Fund project and expansion of their Hubs. That said, I don't think they truly needed a 20% increase to facilitate what they're doing. They also need to maintain price/feature competitiveness with Ford and other upcoming offerings. Sure the R1T serves a different market segment than the F-150 Lightning, but there's a reasonable amount of overlap for many of us who could go either way. If Rivian had stuck to their price increase, I would have continued to leave my order in place until it came time where I had to pick between the R1T and Lightning. My ideal Lightning configuration is right at $80K... My R1T Max Pack config is at $90K. I'll take the R1T at the higher price because I like a few things like the gear tunnel, air suspension and longer range of the max pack. Upping the price like they started to do, or if the max pack turns out to be a bust or something, I'll probably get the Lightning.

 

[Jagger027]

For doing the right thing, I might place another order for an R1S.

For sure I think there might be others thinking the same which will help Rivian in the long run

 

[Gshenderson]

Fire the Comms staff? Oh sorry I forgot, they don’t have one!

 

[voxel]

Plenty of ways Rivian can nickel and dime owners:

Pay for OTA
Pay for firmware updates
Pay for navigation/services
Pay for warranty after 2 years.
Pay for app

All of the above might be "free" for the $90K owners but not the $72K ones.

 

[SeaGeo]

Plenty of ways Rivian can nickel and dime owners:

Pay for OTA
Pay for firmware updates
Pay for navigation/services
Pay for warranty after 2 years.
Pay for app

All of the above might be "free" for the $90K owners but not the $72K ones.

Lmao. All of those would be such a bad hit to their reputation.

 

[kanundrum]

They COULD sell me on a extended warranty easily on day 1.

 

[SeaGeo]

They COULD sell me on a extended warranty easily on day 1.

Same. I thought about that a few weeks ago. But it thing better be backed by a third party though.

 

[voxel]

Lmao. All of those would be such a bad hit to their reputation.

Their reputation isn’t dirt already? They only reversed the price hike due to massive outcry and media coverage. Toyota and Ford already are planning to charge for App functionality and BlueCruise.

 

[kanundrum]

Same. I thought about that a few weeks ago. But it thing better be backed by a third party though.

I doubt any 3rd party would ever possibility with a closed network like Rivian (Tesla) but I havent looked too much into tesla extended warranties. Do those exist?

 

[SeaGeo]

Their reputation isn’t dirt already? They only reversed the price hike due to massive outcry and media coverage. Toyota and Ford already are planning to charge for App functionality and BlueCruise.

That's different than charging customers you already tried pissed off.

And they're trying to salvage it. Obviously.

 

[Rise1Set]

Team… regardless of the price hike, Rivian was going to be operating at a loss for several years to come.

what they do now is they update their model to show new projections based on this decision and when they report to investors they are just going to have to explain it.

The key is for them to be able to maintain peoples belief in the company long enough to develop a company that isn’t going anywhere. If people continue to be interested, and believe in the brand, the idea is that they will continue to attract investors that are willing to support them during a major growth period, which is what it takes to build a massive company who wants to sell cars to the world. This isn’t a McDonald’s franchise, they can just turn a profit in a year because it’s a proven brand and there’s a model that works already.

The $20,000 Delta for pre-order holders is a blip on the map over the course of a company’s lifetime.
As long as people continue to believe in the brand, and support them the ‘loss’ from not being able to charge people the extra $20,000 is not gonna matter at all.

bottom line is there going to be losing money for a long, long time. I think the question everyone needs to ask themselves is will be eventually be able to sell the cars for more than it cost to make, and are there enough people that will buy it at that price for them to maintain business operations.

This world has enough naysayers, if you believe in the product, and that it’s worth what they wanna sell it for, an the mission they are going for, then just believe in them, support them by find their product, or being a brand ambassador and they will be fine.

you wouldn’t give your kid away if they got bad grades, so don’t throw Rivian away because they made a mistake.

 

[kizamybute']

By seeing the big picture. Building a great product, at a competitive price point and offering continued good customer service. Today is certainly a seller's market. But, shortages will subside and manufacturers will be cutting prices to get cars sold at some time in the future. Ford, GM and other big manufacturers rarely take advantage of short term gains in this type of market, understanding that reputation and long term impact is more important to the long term success of the company. Rivian pulled a sleezy move with attempting to jack up pricing 20% in the short terms and nearly cost them dearly. They quickly learned, that even in today's market, buyers still demand respect and will not act irrationally. So proud of the Rivian customer community for standing up and making a difference. I hope Rivian learns from it and focuses on the big picture going forward.

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