Rivian is seen delivering its R1S SUV to non-employees. While the employees’ deliveries have started already, some non-employees are seen having been delivered the car. It has three-row seating and an enclosed rear end with a short overall length compared to R1T electric pickup.
The first R1S were delivered in December, though those went to CEO RJ Scaringe and CFO Claire McDonough. In June, Rivian said that customer delivery of the R1S could start as early as August, so it looks like they’ve just hit that timeline. Though this was pushed back from earlier timelines – last November, the earliest R1S delivery windows were around March-April.
So things got delayed a bit, but given it’s the company’s first ramp in one of the most difficult supply chain environments in memory, at least Rivian got there eventually. Now, the SUV has finally made it to the road, or at least a few of them have. It is said that several deliveries are happening this week, and the first short testimonials with photos surfaced on Friday. As far as it is known these are the first non-employee deliveries so far.
R1S delivery
One was posted by Kyle Shultz of Rivian Stories, a fan site and show for Rivian owners and preorder holders. His post, “R1S in my driveway!” was a little light on details, but includes a few nice photos of the SUV in a suburban driveway. He originally ordered it in Nov 2018, right when the R1S was first introduced.
While Shultz is not a Rivian employee, he has been a leader in the Rivian community, and so this could be considered a “VIP” delivery to some extent, but it’s still a non-employee delivery. Another host of Rivian Stories, Skyler, also got his R1S the same day, both picked up from the Rivian factory in Normal, IL.
There is more detail from another customer, Rick Fletcher, who has “no connection to Rivian” whatsoever. After being contacted by Rivian earlier this week, he took delivery today of an R1S with a VIN in the ~500 range, which he initially pre-ordered in April 2019. He spent about two hours going over the vehicle with the Rivian employee who delivered it to his Pennsylvania home – fittingly, on the same day as a planned family camping outing.
Fletcher shared his experience and some photos in a forum post, and said his first experience driving an EV was “like being in a video game that got the physics wrong.” He was further impressed by the capabilities of Rivian’s Driver+ driver assist system and the ease of charging at an Electrify America charger. He ended the day charging on a 30A RV plug at the campsite his family is staying at. What a way to break into the car.
