Rivian CEO issues strong statement about people who purchase gas-powered cars: ‘Sort of like building a horse barn in 1910’::“I don’t think I would have believed it.”
Maybe some people want to tow.
I’m in the market for a new car and it sure as shit isn’t gonna a be electric. Maybe that’s because I don’t have $80k to drop on a new car. Maybe it’s because I have zero interest in dealing with range issues. Maybe it’s because every EV is a goddamn touchscreen on wheels.
The Rivian R1T’s towing capacity is 11,000 pounds, so you can absolutely tow with one. The question is if you’re talking about a trailer around town or a large camper cross-country. The former should be no big deal, you can always charge at home and start your day off full, but admittedly you’ll be stopping to charge a lot more with the latter.
That said, most people don’t carry campers cross-country, let alone frequently
But for how long? The real world tests I’ve seen on some EVs is pretty poor. If I’m towing something like an RV, it sure as hell isn’t gonna be for just 50 Km, and it’s going to be up and down massive hills where I’m from.
I conceded as much in the last two sentences of my post.
Well maybe if this guy sold an electric car that people could afford, they would buy it
Forgive me, sire; I hadn’t $80,000 to spend on a luxury truck.
You fuck.
A luxury truck with the ugliest headlights on a car today.
I love the front end of the Rivian.
I’m not even sure what my headlights look like. I never really see them.
So a $77-82k Suburban is good in your eyes then? How come? Why? Oh wait, you didn’t read the quote.
Just because he compared it to a suburban doesn’t mean that the Mitsubishi mirage and used Corollas aren’t a thing.
And sure the Chevy Bolt is 26k, but that’s still 5k more expensive than a new Corolla and has like half the range, and you can fuel the Corolla way faster.
If you knew that he was referring to the purchase of a $80k Suburban in 2030 would that change your assessment?
I think you know very well I would never engage with this possibility as a means of self preservation. Good day sir!
Um…does the CEO know that horses are still a thing and that horse barns (aka stables) are still in use? Also, the invention of the automobile didn’t instantly displace the horse. It was well into the 1920s before they became a regular sight.
Also…there’s lots of reasons to buy gas-powered cars these days. For one, not everyone lives in a home where they can install the necessary charger, so you’d always be on the “hunt” for charging stations, and fuel cars are generally cheaper at this time. Once we see the market flooded with EV cars, the prices will come down and fuel cars will no longer be the norm, but we’re likely a decade or more away from that.
I get what the CEO is trying to say, but it’s still incredibly tone-deaf.
Please pay for my apartment complex to install charger plugs in our garages then.
I’m totally onboard with EV’s, I just can’t have one right now.
Haven’t read the article yet, but the quote irks me. I live in a home built in 1920 by a rural “house doctor” with a barn and stalls and all that jazz. Electric may be the future, but gas cars will still be around a while. The same way horses didn’t immediately disappear from rural areas when cars became affordable.
This guy’s a fucking airhead. They’re trying to rush out the cheaper smaller SUV model because they massively overestimated demand for their overpriced truck/SUV. It’s 80k base and by the time you get the AWD and increased range package I imagine everyone who is their target market wants it well over $110k.
This will probably be the last big EV startup we see. After this the real caranufacters are going to take over. Which I’m a bit sad about as they don’t seem to ever take any risks. I’d been saying for years there was surely demand for a small truck like the maverick, now everyone’s making one. Just wish Elon wasn’t so dumb and had made the cyber truck that with a electric drivetrain.
I like the idea of electric cars, may purchase one, but they don’t make sense for everyone at this point. The infrastructure isn’t there, they’re very expensive, the range isn’t practical for some, and many of the choices are unreliable. I applaud those who can make them work, but they’re not for everyone yet.
Range really isn’t a big deal. Pretty much any car will get you from one charger to the next, the question is how long you’ll have to wait to charge. On most cars, 30 minutes of charging will give you a couple hours of driving. Keeping in mind that you can leave home on a full charge and arrive at your destination on nearly nothing, charging overnight, it’s not bad at all.
Oh, and check Plugshare. You’d be surprised how many DC fast chargers are out there. You’ve probably passed by some and not even noticed. There are a few deserts out there (looking at you, Wyoming) but they’re building up FAST. A year ago there was a 135-mile stretch kinda near me without anything along the way. Now there are two on that stretch.
I’m not currently in the market for a truck and I don’t know much about Rivian. Now I know for sure, based on this alone, I will never buy a Rivian vehicle. I used to consider buying a Tesla as well, but won’t for similar reasons.
I wouldn’t go buying a VW group, Ford, GM and probably others then for their penchant to kill or poison people for profit.
It’s important to read the full quote from Rivian’s CEO before complaining about $75k electric trucks:
“I think the reality of buying a combustion-powered vehicle … is sort of like building a horse barn in 1910,” he said. “Imagine buying a Chevy Suburban in 2030 … what are you going to do with that … in 10 years?”
He’s comparing buying a Rivian truck with buying a Suburban, which has a base price of $57k for the lowest tier configuration (LS) and a $76k price on the High Country configuration.
Proof that very few read the article
CEO of an electric car company recommends that people drive electric cars.
Doesn’t really seem like much of a headline.
The statement might be more significant if it was a CEO of a car company that made diesel/petrol cars who said it.
It’s more the tone deafness. Most people couldn’t afford either a car or a horse barn in 1910 just like most people (in America anyway) can’t afford an electric car.
If solid state batteries do work out line Toyota says, these old EVs aren’t going to be too attractive
Maybe. I remember when I built my computer in the mid 2000s (in high school) and saw something about magnetic RAM and how it would be a huge game changer. I thought about holding off so I didn’t build something that would immediately be like buying something that runs on vacuum tubes in the age of transistors, but decided I wanted the computer sooner than later, it would still be useful, and who knows what would really happen with this magnetic RAM buzz. 20 years later, magnetic RAM has not, in fact, changed the game.
Even if Toyota does pull a rabbit out of its hat and they build a bunch of cars in 10 years, that 10-year-old car built today won’t be particularly attractive anyway.
I think hydrogen fuel cell cars are the future. Batteries are by accident, planned obsolence. You have to buy a new car every 5 years due to batteries losing their charge over time.
Hydrogen is interesting for remote use cases, but the 10-15 year old used Leaf and Volt market argue against your second point. Most battery issues will be discovered in the first few years and after that it’s minimal (1-10%) loss after a decade, using far older tech than today’s models. The industry does need some standardization on battery modules to ensure less e-waste, more mechanics, and better pricing.
There is a common misconception that EV batteries die within five years, forcing owners to buy a new car. However, this is not the case.
Battery technology has improved significantly, and new types of batteries, such as Li-S batteries and lithium titanate batteries, have the potential to last the life of the car or even outlast it[1].
Many EV manufacturers offer warranties for their batteries, typically ranging from 8 to 10 years or more, indicating that the batteries are expected to last for a significant portion of the vehicle’s life[1].
With proper care and maintenance, EV batteries can last for a considerable amount of time, and ongoing research and development efforts aim to further improve battery performance and longevity.
Citations: [1] https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/bf453504da210fe289e61421933334ee811026b4
What he actually meant to say was:
“I’ve got my head so far up my ass that I think everybody should be spending $100k+ on a truck regardless of their need or financial circumstances. I’m also incapable of doing my job, which is why my company can’t produce enough units, even though it’s largely a solved supply chain problem. This is how I cope with my shitty existence on this planet.”
A giant electric “luxury” truck is still a giant “luxury” truck. Buying one over the other is like buying a cruelty free synthetic beaver cap over a cap made from an actual beaver. Yes it probably is better, but you are still wearing an ass on your head.
It’s 2023, most people live in urbanized areas where a truck is similarly ridiculous, especially the modern “luxury” models. Those that actually use their vehicles for hauling things at a farm want real work trucks and tractors (regardless of engine type) with lower and longer beds.
