R1T and R1S pricing jumped between 17 and 20 percent as of March 1.
Rivian announced certain updates to its R1T and R1S models on March 1 that would take effect in 2024. New dual-motor setups and smaller battery alternatives were among them, but it was a not-insignificant price rise for quad-motor versions that drew the most notice. This is due to the fact that the price rise was applied to existing reservation holders who believed they had a price locked in.
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That seems to have made quite a stir in Rivian society. On March 3, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe wrote a letter reversing the price hike for reservation holders. He cites increased material costs as the reason for the rise in the letter, but concedes that the implementation of the increase and the logic behind it could have been handled more effectively.
“As we worked to update pricing to reflect these cost increases, we wrongly decided to make these changes apply to all future deliveries, including pre-existing configured preorders. We failed to appreciate how you viewed your configuration as price locked, and we wrongly assumed the announced Dual-Motor and Standard battery pack would provide configurations that would deliver price points similar to your original configuration. While this was the logic, it was wrong and we broke your trust in Rivian.”
Starting prices for the dual-motor versions with smaller batteries were announced at $67,500 for the R1T and $70,000 for the R1S, which are identical to the previous MSRP for the quad-motor vehicles. Rivian’s quad-motor R1T will now cost $78,975 while the R1S will cost $84,000. These increases range between 17 and 20 percent, so it’s understandable why reservation holders were upset. Anyone who switched their reservation to the dual-motor model would have had to wait an additional year for delivery. When you add it all up, it’s a PR disaster for a corporation still attempting to establish itself.
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