Tick Tick Tick...

[NY_Rob]

I mean sure they could be making that a "canned reply" until the bad news is formally announced at the end of this month, but wow, that would generate really horrible press, crush the stock, and drive many to drinking heavier than they already are. ????

I'll drink to that brother!! ?

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[stynes]

Look, I get this, and I even think Rivian flirted with the "promise" line a bit more than I'd like (especially in the most recent "delivery timeline" mail) - but it's important to remember that nobody here has a promise. We've placed a deposit that Rivian has no legal obligation to reward with an order at any particular time, or even at all. Check your preorder agreement.

I'm not saying that removes anyone's right to be frustrated here. It certainly doesn't. But I think it's important to view everything Rivian has said about timelines as a best-guess projection based on their information; viewing it as a promise both sets you up for disappointment and frustration, and misrepresents the actual relationship between parties.

I have a saying in my office. If we have to go back to the contract with the customer as part of any sort of disagreement, we've already lost the customer relationship. I'm not saying that's not sometimes necessary and it doesn't provide us (or in this case Rivian) legal protections, but we make it a point to proactively communicate what's going on, what the customer's responsibilities are, any variances to expectations, etc. And Rivian just isn't doing that.

Are people frustrated that they don't have trucks? Sure they are. But a little bit of hey, we're sorry, here's what's going on and how we're trying to resolve it goes a long way.

Another analogy... if I use Uber Eats or Doordash or whatever and get an expected arrival time, it's certainly not a promise. And if the food is late, the food is late. But I'm a lot happier when the driver messages me and says... crash on the 5, I'm taking surface streets and will be 15 mins late vs. looking at the map and wondering why the driver appears to be going the wrong way. Both situations result in my food being late but I'm a lot more patient and understanding and HAPPIER WITH THE BRAND (in case someone from Rivian does ever read this) with a little communication.

 

[NY_Rob]

We all know in reality zero customer vehicles have been delivered... so what are all the paid employees in the service centers doing all day? At least the Maytag Repairman got an occasional washer drier to fix... Rivian doesn't even have anything broken yet (unless you count the 2 crashes).

 

[emoore]

We all know in reality zero customer vehicles have been delivered... so what are all the paid employees in the service centers doing all day? At least the Maytag Repairman got an occasional washer drier to fix... Rivian doesn't even have anything broken yet (unless you count the 2 crashes).

We do? Zero customer deliveries? Interesting.

 

[SASSquatch]

I think for some folks who have been here a very long time it might be a good idea to just take a break from the forum and focus on something else for a while. Starting a car company from scratch and mass producing vehicles is really F'ing hard. That's why in the last 100 years there have only been two companies to do it in the US: Tesla and now Rivian (on their way).

Look what Elon had to go through to ramp up Model 3 production and how long people were waiting (and are still waiting!) for their Teslas. I think we have to all be patient, which I can understand is much harder if you've already been waiting since 2018 but getting all worked up isn't going to change anything or really be productive.

 

[Bullitt]

Here’s a new wild theory I just thought up… you know, to give us something to talk about while waiting! Bwahahahah..

Per the Dec RJ email if only “several hundred“ of the vehicles delivered were employee deliveries, maybe the other earliest pre-order holders were Ford employees! ? Makes sense right??! Ford was a big investor early on, maybe they incentivized their employees to buy one as well. Now that the relationship has become more “plutonic” perhaps Ford is hiding all those other R1Ts that were delivered by EOY2021 like a scorned lover!

In hindsight, that last heavy stout was perhaps one too many! ?

 

[EarlyAdptr]

Let me start by saying I have NO idea what's happening inside Rivian. All we can go on is what we each know. And so far, with the exception of 1 or 2 folks on this forum (subset of all Rivian order holders) no one is "fessing up" to receiving their truck.

Several photo's have been posted of car carriers transporting Rivian trucks - in 2022. Where / who are those going to? Also the Bellevue Service Center had several trucks (as of a couple of weeks ago) - I assume those are being prepped for customer deliveries.

Obviously, I don' t know how many R1T's Rivian has delivered so far, but I suspect its greater than 0 and either the forum participants here and sharing that (for obvious personal reasons) or the recipients just aren't on this forum at all.

Of course, none of that negates the commuication issue - those that have been told January / February delivery and so far - heard zero. And those folks, are on this forum, and speaking out.

Scott
LE R1S LG / OC - March/April delivery (supposedly).

 

[hola29]

Still not a car I would pay 500K for on the market...

Buy a gas gussler for 350K anddrive around Dubai or London? Low class...

I am a high-ish net worth guy, and the concept of buying a bi-turbo V8 is completely insane to me...same with a megayacht...how much of an asshole do you have to be to burn 100 gallons an hour?

 

[hola29]

Funny, last biz trip to London, and say a guy parking his ferrari on the the street...yeah, fancy neighborhood, but still wtf. He got up w/ me at 7AM and drove to work...burning petroluem.

There are zero petroleum cars I am interested in...maybe vintage...

Still not a car I would pay 500K for on the market...

Buy a gas gussler for 350K anddrive around Dubai or London? Low class...

I am a high-ish net worth guy, and the concept of buying a bi-turbo V8 is completely insane to me...same with a megayacht...how much of an asshole do you have to be to burn 100 gallons an hour?

 

[moosehead]

I am a high-ish net worth guy, and the concept of buying a bi-turbo V8 is completely insane to me...same with a megayacht...how much of an asshole do you have to be to burn 100 gallons an hour?

Guess I’m a big enough asshole to own a biturbo V8, but sounds like my net worth is smaller than yours.

 

[crashmtb]

Still not a car I would pay 500K for on the market...

Buy a gas gussler for 350K anddrive around Dubai or London? Low class...

I am a high-ish net worth guy, and the concept of buying a bi-turbo V8 is completely insane to me...same with a megayacht...how much of an asshole do you have to be to burn 100 gallons an hour?

next you will wonder, “what are the poor people doing today?”

not to worry, we can tell you.

 

[hola29]

Lol, sounds like you need a quad turbo w/extra low profile tires for extra gas burn...haha, our grandkids will laugh. Fire up the ole' gas burner to drive 3 miles and back....Need a turbo for that! Make that DUAL turbos!

Guess I’m a big enough asshole to own a biturbo V8, but sounds like my net worth is smaller than yours.

 

[hola29]

Love the concept that rich people get to burn more oil...I am sure that will be looked fondly of in the next couple decades...lol.

I want a mega yacht and private plane that burn fuel even when I am not using them, and 10x when I am! Lol...things are going to change...

next you will wonder, “what are the poor people doing today?”

not to worry, we can tell you.

 

[E.S.]

We all know in reality zero customer vehicles have been delivered...

"... that haven't come forth to the public en masse."

(there, fixed that for you).

They may be low in count, but non-employee deliveries have occurred. That the majority of them haven't stepped forward to declare should be of no surprise to anyone (many of us treasure our privacy. So, GET OFF MY LAWN AND STOP GAWKING AT MY RIVIAN! )

 

[Joninrye]

I guess I'm confused on what you want them to say. "You still don't have a truck, manufacturing is hard?" Something tells me wouldn't actually feel better.

I really do think we're all reasonably frustrated because we hoped it would be sooner and it's not. That feels like a communication problem because we want to be told something to feel better. But there's little Rivian can actually tell us to feel better that doesn't put them at risk, since what we want is more forecasting (and maybe a dollop of trade secrets and/or privileged information that the SEC might have opinions about).

It sounds like an easy problem because words are easy, but accurate projections are not easy. I genuinely don't think anyone on this forum, if made Communications Director at Rivian tomorrow, would be particularly likely change a damn thing upon getting the lay of the land.

I'm really not trying to apologize for Rivian here, so much as suggest a dollop of empathy. It's perfectly fine to be frustrated; the truth is you're buying a truck at the bleeding edge from an unproven company in a particularly challenging manufacturing environment. If you don't have the appetite for that, the correct answer may very well be to back out and buy something else. (Which, you'll find, is not necessarily easier.) That doesn't mean you should be happy with Rivian, but it also doesn't mean they are fumbling some obvious play here.


Look, I get this, and I even think Rivian flirted with the "promise" line a bit more than I'd like (especially in the most recent "delivery timeline" mail) - but it's important to remember that nobody here has a promise. We've placed a deposit that Rivian has no legal obligation to reward with an order at any particular time, or even at all. Check your preorder agreement.

I'm not saying that removes anyone's right to be frustrated here. It certainly doesn't. But I think it's important to view everything Rivian has said about timelines as a best-guess projection based on their information; viewing it as a promise both sets you up for disappointment and frustration, and misrepresents the actual relationship between parties.

See, I think most members of this forum are empathetic to Rivian's massive undertaking. We are all fans, we love the concept and we are confident that the product is going to be amazing. Most of us are all-in on Rivian.

I'll be happy to stipulate that starting an electric truck company is hard, external circumstances have made it harder, Rivian's fine print makes it clear they have "no obligations", etc. None of that prevents them, nor absolves them from providing clear and effective communication.

I, like many, was also sold on Rivian's culture. How many times has RJ said that reservation holders are coming along for "the journey"? We know what we signed up for, we're not surprised by the bumps in the road. Treat us like big boys and girls....we don't need to know everything, but don't tell us nothing.

Your point about the risks of communication is valid. But there are also risks to not communicating and the rumblings that you hear in this and other forums is the manifestation of that latter risk.

Disenchanting your biggest fans, your base, strikes me as a terrible and wholly avoidable mistake.

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