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Rivian Owner Coming From a Tesla Gives His Honest Opinion About Which Is Better

Even though Tesla dominates the EV market in the U.S., newcomers are making inroads, sometimes offering better vehicle features. Rivian is the startup known for delivering the first electric pickup truck to the market, but are its vehicles better than Tesla’s? A Rivian R1T owner who also owns a Tesla tries to answer.
Rivian R1T 6 photos
Photo: Rivian
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Despite all the issues Tesla experienced in 2022, the pioneer EV maker reported its best year in history. Its prospects for 2023 are brighter than many thought just a month ago after Tesla cut prices to accelerate demand. This has put tremendous pressure on its rivals, with startups, like Rivian, likely the most affected. At least for now, Rivian has a big advantage over other EV makers: it doesn’t compete with Tesla. The R1T truck is still unchallenged until the Cybertruck starts deliveries, and the R1S is nothing like the Tesla Model X.

Since Tesla’s electric pickup truck is still missing from the market, many people who placed a reservation for it settled for the next best thing, the Rivian R1T. Since some of those folks already have other Teslas in their garages, it wasn’t long before new Rivian owners started to compare the two brands. Honest opinions show every brand’s good and bad, although other owners swear one brand or another wins hands down. The truth is that these vehicles are so complicated that they cannot be the best in every area.

When comparing the driver assist features, we already know that Rivian is still in its infancy compared to Tesla. Tesla FSD/Autopilot is more capable and polished, although even in this superiority, there are black spots. Rivian, for instance, is smoother in centering the car in the lane than Tesla, although it gives up more easily if ideal conditions are not met.

Sean is another Tesla owner who switched to a Rivian, but tried to keep his head cool when comparing them head to head. He knows that the Rivian R1T might have some rough edges, being newer and less mature than Tesla’s products. The Rivian is also more like a hand-built vehicle, considering the low-volume production, which gives the carmaker more time to prepare its trucks for delivery. Besides that, Sean tries his best to offer an honest evaluation of the Rivian compared to Tesla on Rivian Forums.

Sean admits he’s a truck guy and enjoys driving the R1T more than the Model Y. He drove trucks before the Tesla and is now thrilled he can drive a truck again, thanks to it being electric. Nevertheless, he finds that he chooses his Tesla more often because it is much more efficient than the Rivian. The R1T uses more than double the energy for any given trip compared to the Model Y. The Rivian truck has a more comfortable suspension, though, which is definitely a plus for the R1T.

One of the best things about the Rivian is that it didn’t try to do things differently. The R1T offers a driving experience that mirrors that of Tesla. Coming from the Model Y, everything feels familiar, including the software and the controls. Nevertheless, there are areas where Tesla still has the upper hand, and one of them is in the driver-assist territory, as we’ve already found out.

Another area where Rivian struggles against Tesla is the charging experience. Charging a Tesla is a plug-and-play affair, whereas with a Rivian is a hit-and-miss, sometimes frustrating adventure. Hopefully, Tesla will soon open its Supercharger network to other car brands, and Rivian owners like Sean will get past the biggest issues with a non-Tesla EV.
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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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