Rivian Teases Us With Yet ANOTHER 3 Second Glimpse from a Second Clip of Their Electric Trucks R1T and R1S Now Days Away From Their Debut

EDIT NOTE: 11/24/18 1635 PST: I corrected the model names of Rivian’s Pickup truck, the R1T, and the SUV, the R1S. I also updated the illustration to reflect Rivian’s new corporate logo. My thanks to Michael McHale,Communicatons Director at Rivian Automotive. Please pardon the snafu.

BREAKING NEWS: 11/20/18 6:45 P.M. PST: I was just about to file this story about last week’s Rivian Automotive teaser, when I just went on YouTube to peel off that video and found this just published by Rivian with only 50 views so far, this time a 15 second clip where the one of the two vehicles is revealed:

STAY TUNED: I’ll be at the Auto Show for more details on Rivian’s new Vehicles. Now back to the feature story:

Rivian Automotive, the ten year old electric vehicle startup I wrote about a few weeks ago, is now getting close to their vehicle debut launch of their full electric pickup and SUV at the LA Auto Show. If you type into Google “Rivian Automotive” and check images, you’ll see not one thing, not one picture that’s legit, about anything Rivian and a truck or SUV. I called them the clandestine “electric adventure vehicle” maker, because for the past ten years they have been so secretive in trying to carefully find the right vehicle at the right time to ramp up for production. If you remember me telling you, Rivian has been spending all this time carefully searching for the right prototype so that they can put that technology into that vehicle. Time seems to be running out I’m sure they know, as other startups like Lucid are getting ready to ramp up if not already, and with the legacies like VW and GM ready to saturate the market before Tesla corners it, its going to be harder to introduce anything not off the beaten path:

About the Truck(s):

• Rivian Automotive will be debuting their two trucks at the LA Auto Show at the end of this month.
• They’re making high end “premium electric adventure vehicles” that are military grade rough terrain capable.
• The pickup and SUV are based on the same platform.
• We’re starting to get some idea what these vehicles look like.
• The five passenger pickup truck would launch first, followed by the seven-passenger SUV in late 2019, probably more 2020.
• In May 2018, Rivian stated that they planned to name their upcoming truck and SUV the R1T and R1S respectively.
• Ladder frame skate board Tesla-like center reinforced battery tray. Apparent aluminum construction. Dual motor, 4 wheel vented discs, independent front suspension. Apparent some kind of connected unilateral rear suspension.
• The A1T will be able to sprint from 0-60 in 2.8 seconds, wade through 3.6 feet of water and climb a 45-percent incline.
• A truck 0-60 in 2.8 secs!
• Its rough terrain performance is expected like Bollinger’s SUT, to meet or exceed military grade standards at or beyond Land Rover or Jeep.
• Based on their vehicle descriptions we’re assuming these two trucks each will at least have 4x4 capability with some kind of locking differential in some kind of variant to negotiate those steep hills and declines the website says they will.
• The base trim will include a range of 200 miles and the top trim will have upwards of 400-450 miles.
• I’ll be there at the LA Auto Show 2018 to find out to get to the bottom line of this.

Rivian describes their pickup and SUV as “electric adventure vehicles.” From their press release:

“The two all-new electric drive models promise impressive on- and off-road performance figures and class-leading specifications including range, power, torque and off-road articulation. These vehicles are set to demonstrate that electric vehicle technology is now able to deliver durable, long-range on- and off-road capability to consumers.”

It is the do or die of being a startup of electric vehicles: trying to find the right kind of vehicle for the right time, and most importantly, for the right kind of money you can get to ramp it up once you decide what its going to be. Ask Tesla. Tesla is the only electric car start up so far that has made it past ramp up to production to still be alive. This is also why Tesla is the darling of the stock market even though they’re soaked in debt, as for a long time their valuation is more than GM’s is, to GM’s jealousy and amazement, that Tesla despite all its problems just seems to be at the right place and the right time to still be here since 2003 when they started, and 2008 when they started building Model S, their first full mass production vehicle.

So when I got the email from being on their list about the debut clip, I had to slow it down many times to get it scrubbing speed. And then once there slowed it down to get a screen shot. I see other news agencies have done it too, but that’s what you see in the illustrations above. If you haven’t caught it yet, here‘s their video from their website:

I’ll be at the Auto Show on November 29, 2018 for Torque News and doing live casts on social media to give you the scoop on Rivian and other vehicles noteworthy that you’ll want to know.

All Images taken from Rivian Automotive Media Website.

What do you think of Rivian’s electric adventure vehicles? Let us know below!