Photo: @Thavisin via X, JoshG via Tesla Motors Club, Tesla
The powered tonneau cover on the R1T's bed was Rivian's biggest blunder to date, taking the EV startup two years to fix. Tesla, on the other hand, fitted the Cybertruck with a cover that could withstand the weight of two people and not break, which is no small feat. The recently published Cybertruck parts catalog reveals how Tesla one-upped Rivian in this regard.
If you have followed the electric vehicle market in the past two years, you know how Tesla's success encouraged other startups to develop their own electric vehicle models. However, Tesla's story might not repeat, with other EV companies biting the dust or struggling to avoid it. Does anyone remember Lordstown Endurance? What about Nikola Badger? Both truck projects are now dead, as are the companies that promised to make them. Others might not be too far behind.
From the very promising bunch of EV startups that were founded before the pandemic, only Lucid Motors and Rivian are still alive. Only the latter is both alive and kicking, though, as Lucid is in a dire situation from which only the deep pockets of the Saudi PIF could save it. Rivian started its adventure flushed with cash, thanks to the Amazon partnership, although the reserve might run dry if the company doesn't become profitable soon. To its credit, it also produces two excellent models, the R1T pickup and the R1S SUV.
Both have been praised for their quality and features, although it wasn't always smooth sailing. Every beginning is rough, and Rivian had to learn this the hard way. One of Rivian's biggest blunders was R1T's powered tonneau cover, which proved flimsy and prone to breaking apart. The EV startup dodged the issue for almost a year before promising to offer a fix. And it took another year before the updated tonneau covers started shipping.
The problem is that the new parts don't seem much different from the defective ones. Owners who had them installed confirmed that they look similar, and they even sound alike. The characteristic screeching sound is what's frightening people, considering that it was the first sign the original powered tonneau cover would break. The sluggish movement and the sound are caused because Rivian wanted to save money and used only one motor for the system that opens and closes the cover. In time, this causes the slats to get out of sync, jam, and eventually break.
What Rivian should've done is use two motors, one on each side. At least, this is what Tesla has done for the Cybertruck. The angular pickup truck also has a powered tonneau cover. Although it is too soon to talk about its reliability, I assume it won't suffer from the same issues as the one on the Rivian R1T. After all, we've seen two people jumping on it on more than one occasion.
When the prime minister of Thailand, Srettha Thavisin, visited Tesla Fremont in November, Tesla VP for Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravi invited him to climb on the Cybertruck's tonneau cover. This proved as solid as the stainless-steel outer skin, showing no sign that it might break. It didn't even bend, proving that Tesla wasn't joking about the Cybertruck's toughness. Still, there's another reason why I think the Cybertruck's tonneau cover will have no problem in the long term.
The Cybertruck's parts catalog reveals that it features two electric motors, one on each side. This prevents jamming or stuttering while opening and closing. The tonneau cover is also sealed and has an integrated water management system to prevent rain from entering into the vault. This shows that Tesla was paying attention to Rivian's pains with the R1T cover and put more effort into designing a worry-free variant for its iconic pickup.
From the very promising bunch of EV startups that were founded before the pandemic, only Lucid Motors and Rivian are still alive. Only the latter is both alive and kicking, though, as Lucid is in a dire situation from which only the deep pockets of the Saudi PIF could save it. Rivian started its adventure flushed with cash, thanks to the Amazon partnership, although the reserve might run dry if the company doesn't become profitable soon. To its credit, it also produces two excellent models, the R1T pickup and the R1S SUV.
Both have been praised for their quality and features, although it wasn't always smooth sailing. Every beginning is rough, and Rivian had to learn this the hard way. One of Rivian's biggest blunders was R1T's powered tonneau cover, which proved flimsy and prone to breaking apart. The EV startup dodged the issue for almost a year before promising to offer a fix. And it took another year before the updated tonneau covers started shipping.
The problem is that the new parts don't seem much different from the defective ones. Owners who had them installed confirmed that they look similar, and they even sound alike. The characteristic screeching sound is what's frightening people, considering that it was the first sign the original powered tonneau cover would break. The sluggish movement and the sound are caused because Rivian wanted to save money and used only one motor for the system that opens and closes the cover. In time, this causes the slats to get out of sync, jam, and eventually break.
What Rivian should've done is use two motors, one on each side. At least, this is what Tesla has done for the Cybertruck. The angular pickup truck also has a powered tonneau cover. Although it is too soon to talk about its reliability, I assume it won't suffer from the same issues as the one on the Rivian R1T. After all, we've seen two people jumping on it on more than one occasion.
When the prime minister of Thailand, Srettha Thavisin, visited Tesla Fremont in November, Tesla VP for Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravi invited him to climb on the Cybertruck's tonneau cover. This proved as solid as the stainless-steel outer skin, showing no sign that it might break. It didn't even bend, proving that Tesla wasn't joking about the Cybertruck's toughness. Still, there's another reason why I think the Cybertruck's tonneau cover will have no problem in the long term.
The Cybertruck's parts catalog reveals that it features two electric motors, one on each side. This prevents jamming or stuttering while opening and closing. The tonneau cover is also sealed and has an integrated water management system to prevent rain from entering into the vault. This shows that Tesla was paying attention to Rivian's pains with the R1T cover and put more effort into designing a worry-free variant for its iconic pickup.
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