Rivian R1S
Last weekend I spent an afternoon exploring Williamsburg Brooklyn.
I wanted to take a closer look at the area between Wythe and Bedford Avenues, between North 4th and North 12th Streets, because of the high concentration of interests that Google Maps shows me pins for.
I timed my visit to attend the opening of a new Snow Peak store there. (If you don’t know that brand, it is essentially a Japanese version of Patagonia.)
The retail experience of the new store is amazing and you should stop if you are in the neighborhood. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about the Rivian R1S that was making a delivery outside when I was there.
Rivian does not get the attention that Tesla gets (yet) but IMO it could be one of the most transformative products in the electrification of the automobile industry.
The product page for the R1S on Rivian's website ties the model to a higher purpose, "whether it’s taking families on new adventures or helping fleets electrify at scale, our vehicles all share a common goal - preserving the natural world for generations to come."
And the product photography does the rest.
But there ARE headwinds.
In addition to production problems related to availability of microchips, one thing that may limit the market for the R1S is the starting price, $78,000. While it is expensive, I think the owner experience will make it worth every penny for those who can afford it. And the price may come down as production and distribution scale up.
It is yet to be seen whether Amazon's significant investment in Rivian will materialize as a brilliant move. After the IPO it looked like pure genius. But when Rivian missed production targets over several quarters, it looked less so. As a result, Amazon has had to write down something like $10B in losses related to their holdings.
Strategically Amazon’s taking an ownership stake makes a lot of sense because as they electrify their fleet, instead of buying vehicles from an adversarial third party, they will be effectively buying them from themselves.
And in 2030 when the laws change in leading states like New York and California, the field will tilt toward makers like Rivian who can focus all of their resources on the market without needing to transition from combustion engine business.
More here … https://rivian.com/r1s
