Tesla advocates were sure that the Cybertruck would arrive earlier than the Rivian R1T. One million reservations later, reality knocked on their doors, warning that it will not happen without the 4680 cells. Rivian has also postponed deliveries of the R1T. However, the company already invited some pre-order customers to try the electric pickup truck in the Normal factory in Illinois.
The short video released by Rivian does not state who these customers are nor what impression they got after driving the R1T. It just shows their reactions at the steering wheel, and that is probably enough to understand they do not regret ordering one. Considering some of the faces, they may even be anxious to get their units.
RJ Scaringe even took a customer for a spin in the company’s off-road track around the factory. The company’s CEO said it was his first test drive with a client. Considering he showed up just at the beginning of the video, it may have been the first and last time he did that on that day.
RIvian instructors were in the cars with the reservation holders to tell them all about the R1T. They also incentivized them to put the pedal to the metal to try the acceleration of the electric pickup truck. A carefully selected comment from a little girl stated the R1T “was even better than the red rollercoaster.”
An intriguing comment came from a customer that said he would freak out to take the R1T uphill. The reason was that “having been in different vehicles in the military,” he would “never do any of that.” We wonder why, considering how capable vehicles in the military are supposed to be in the same situations.
With its buyers seemingly so satisfied with the R1T, Rivian just failed to confirm if it would really deliver the first units in September. That’s less than a month from now. Perhaps the good news is no news about another delay.
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