R1S ---> R1T in Hopes of Earlier Delivery

[Aatish]

Hello All,

Quick intro on myself. My name is Aatish Patel, and Co-Founder of an EV Charger hardware start-up.
The TL;DR is I ordered a R1S back in October of last year, about a year or so after I had started my company. The hope was to have it sometime later this year for use with my companies hardware (Level 3 chargers)....however things happened with the start-up, which forced me to cancel my pre-order a few months after placing.

Since then, I've stabilized the company and got back into a position where I can one again have a pre-order placed. I did so in April, right after the price hike, and was still hoping for a delivery sometime soon....which seems very unlikely given the recent messaging from Rivian.

So, as a shot in the dark given recent experiences with orders, I've reconfigured my pre-order to a grey on black R1T in the hopes of getting something much sooner. We're starting deployments of our chargers, and I need a vehicle for testing purposes (as well as for travel to and from install sites in the nation).

Will use this thread as a way to track progress given the changes. If anyone has any experience or insight on how changes affect eligibility, feel free to chime in!

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[lostpacket]

Here's hoping you win the delivery lottery.

Would love to hear more about your company

 

[MoreTrout]

Hope you win the lottery, but if Rivian were honoring the 1000s in line before you based on preorder dates, then it would be unlikely for you to get a truck before mid 2023 at the earliest. Good luck with your startup.

 

[Max]

With the ”store” rivian is opening, anything is possible. Especially since you will be paying more than most of us, if an unassigned R1T with your specs or close enough becomes available in your state, I have a feeling you will get priority. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rivian uses the store to make sure there will be unassigned R1Ts available in your state to bump up revenue with limited supply. This has already happened and Rivian has stated it can happen again. Keep us posted.

 

[Aatish]

Thanks for the well wishes all! Checking my status daily to see if things change! I need to do some deployments in a couple months in VW and TX....really would like to road trip out there in this thing if possible.

Basically, we're providing L3 Charging and microgrid products that are made specifically for the North American electrical grid. Spent the last 2+ years working another start-up and OEM to develop an charging architecture to support 208 3-phase (what's normally found here at most commercial sites), while also delivering a rate of charge that is useful (100kW was our target). Also, wanted these to be something anyone with a parking spot could own, operate, and realize revenue from...so created a software ecosystem that allows for seamless setup and operation (think vending machine but with L3 Charging).

• It's 30% cheaper interms of overall hardware cost.
• 90% cheaper to install than any offering on the market.
• Software is included with the units, and transaction piece is inline with what's seen in the industry.
• We're working on building service systems and support to help drive further adoption of these units, to get more people comfortable with EVs

Little bit of background on the problem with EV Charging Products today...

EU and APAC have been leading the charge (pun not intended) for EV infrastructure for the past 7-9 years or so....they are all based on a 240v system. We were the first to get electricity and develop a true grid, which is based on 110v. We got pretty deep with 110v by the time people realized the shortcomings it had against 240v...so we're more or less stuck with it for now.

Electrical equipment isn't like an iPhone, in that it's a global product with a global market. In the grand scheme of things, the US is a relatively small portion of the market and that's mainly why the supply chains have been setup with 240v in mind...

As a result, the L3 units you see from ABB/Tritium/Signet (which are used by EA, EvGo, etc) are meant for 480v environments, which are pretty rare to find in the US (especially in places where it makes sense to place a unit). In order to support these units, you need support equipment (step-up transformers) which is additional cost + additional wiring and conduit work to facilitate properly zoned installation.

For an independent operator (say a hotel owner, cafe, fast food joint off a highway exit), the experience is worse because onto of the high NRE associated with install (in some cases $175k+ per unit), they often need to utilize some 3rd party platform to facilitate management and revenue generation. This is additional monthly cost + services fees (30% in some cases) which is kinda repulsive to take on after so much CAPEX.

And finally, servicing is not clear and these units will need them as they are utilized. EA is utilizing Signet units, which is Korean company. The do not have dedicated after sales team for NA market, nor a formal US presence per my understanding. EA relies on 3rd parties for servicing, which is inconsistent given the disconnect with from them OEM, hence why there is a lot of issues with reliability and downtime...these problems are probably worse for independent operators given their weight in the industry (relatively speaking).

The gist of it is it's very costly and inefficient to roll out these products in a meaningful manner with the current product offerings on the market. On top of that, managing such a business in order to make a consistent ROI is not that straightforward.

I tried installing DC chargers at some hotels I am involved with. It was a pain in the butt and didn't make sense with the current offerings. I also come from the manufacturing and product development space, and know how and where these things are made.

2+ years later, some $$$, and a lot of stress I'm here. First units are starting to come online (one in picture is in Tinley Park, IL). We got a UL cert. Working on a capital raise + factory/HQ development in Texas.

Hopefully, an R1T is also in the pipeline soon.

 

[Aatish]

Ok.
So quick update. Called the customer service hotline to get some more clarity on the R1T flexibility.

Seems like emails will go out this week (tomorrow?) for to select few to get a chance at a pre-built vehicle, that differs from the original spec on pre-order.

I told the rep about my situation and desire for a car. She said she noted something on my account regarding the background + flexibility on the configuration. So let’s see.
6-8 weeks is what I quoted for “flex” orders.

 

[pmp6]

I switched an R1S order to an R1T resulting in a total of 3 active R1T orders (placed over a span of a year). I made sure each order had different configurations. I tried to make two with a less popular tire choice (21”), some in colors that were rumored to be in the next “batch,” and all with the powered tonneau (since we have yet to see anything else), etc. It was dumb luck to see the newest of my 3 orders hit the Rivian lottery. I felt like I could somewhat see how the orders were being selected and took an educated/speculative guess on configurations that may “hit” the lottery; it paid off.

With what they’ve told us about the R1 shop, I suspect my strategy won’t work any more. Also not being able to select a build on new orders will likely prevent you from buying more fully refundable, $1000 lottery tickets. Rather, I expect preorder date to play a bigger role, which seems much more fair to me.

 

[Aatish]

Bump.

No updates yet, but still hopefully.
I need to test a charger today. Renting an Ioniq 5 from Turo to keep things moving.

Hopefully something shakes down soon.

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