And having an existing pre-order won’t save you.
Elliot Ross
Things are changing quick over at Rivian.
First off, the groundbreaking electric vehicle maker is now offering a new entry-level version of its impressive R1T electric pickup truck and R1s EV SUV. Per Roadshow, base-model Rivians will swap out the quad-motor system built by Bosch for an in-house built dual-motor setup. That setup will still offer an impressive 600 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque, and accelerate the truck from 0-60 mph in about four seconds, and the Standard Pack battery will deliver a claimed 260 miles of range. Otherwise, you’re getting pretty much the same R1T as we drove in our first spin in the truck last year.
That sounds like a great deal, right? Well, there’s a catch: the Rivians aren’t getting cheaper.
The R1T, for example, will still start at a nominal $67,500, same as before — it’s just that you’ll now be getting a less capable truck for that expenditure. And leveling up to the truck you would have previously received for $67,500 on the Rivian configurator will be pricey. It’s an additional $6,000 to level up to the quad-motor system, and it’s another $6,000 to add the Large battery pack for around 320 miles of range. That brings the total price of what was the only version of the R1T at launch to $79,500…and that will be more than $81,000 should you want your R1T in any color that isn’t L.A. Silver.
But Rivian’s tens of thousands of existing reservation holders will be breathing a sigh of relief they got in before the price hike, right? Well, no, they won’t. The price increase also affects existing customers with pre-orders who aren’t in the final stages of accepting delivery for their vehicle. In other words, a whole lot of reservation-holding customers will have to decide whether to accept the less-powerful, shorter-range version — or pay $12,000 or so more for the rig they originally expected they’d be getting.
The Rivian R1T is still a relatively good deal. The base dual-motor version will be more capable in significant ways than the Ford F-150 Lightning, and leveling up to the quad-motor R1T — our game-changing vehicle for 2021 — will still be markedly cheaper than the six-figure Chevy Silverado EV (that won’t arrive for quite a while, regardless). However, the surprise 18% price hike (or acceptance of a lesser product) likely won’t feel like a fantastic deal to Rivian buyers already holding pre-orders.
Keyword: Rivian's Game-Changing Truck Just Got Way More Expensive