Here's the "skateboard" from a Forbes article from Feb '19:
Another article stated that the SUV and Truck share something like 91% of parts.
Here's the "skateboard" from a Forbes article from Feb '19:
Another article stated that the SUV and Truck share something like 91% of parts.
bcp2011 said:mtn said:Was it an ownership stake? For the next few years (and for the purpose of getting a return on their investment) it makes no difference, but I don't think it is an ownership stake.
Every source I've seen says it's an equity stake in Rivian, rather than an upfront payment for vans.
I was going to ask how you "invest" in a company without taking some sort of ownership stake. I thought that was the point of buying/selling shares - that each one is a small slice of ownership?
Adrian_Thompson said:mtn said:My buddy works in their Normal facility. Sounds like they'll be ready based on what he says. And everyone there is ex-Mitsubishi, ex-Caterpillar, or ex-Big 3. I really feel like they're going to make it work.
This is a massive, a key difference between the Bond Villan and Rivian. One company thinks they don't need industry experience, and look at the supply side and quality issues they're having, the other is hiring people who know how to design and produce vehicles in quantity and with quality.
Yes, but the “Villan” has four different car designs driving around while Rivian has how many? I dont know where you came up with the quality comparison since Rivian hasnt mass produced anything.
Whether you want to admit it or not, what the Villan has done is IMPRESSIVE.
Anyways, why is he a Villan? Honest question since I have no clue what he has done thats so bad.
In reply to Slippery :
He's either a Bond villain or he's Bruce Wayne. Either way, doing audacious things that require cubic miles of cash and large dreams.
If you order an electric delivery truck for Amazon, who delivers it? Does it self-deliver? That's a big order, do they expect to get 2-day delivery? Are Rivian trucks on Prime?
In reply to Knurled. :
I thought he was Tony Stark.
At least he did not start with a “small” loan from his dad.
pinchvalve said:If you order an electric delivery truck for Amazon, who delivers it? Does it self-deliver? That's a big order, do they expect to get 2-day delivery? Are Rivian trucks on Prime?
A Tesla semi will bring it your house.
yupididit said:Rivian sounds cool but to me because they have nothing to show in the road yet, I can't get excited. I see that everyone is excited about this company but has anyone actually used these vehicles yet? I know Tesla gets a lot of E36 M3 from people but no one gives this company E36 M3. Confusing. Hopefully, they do well but they will have issues and pains as they come out. Just like Tesla, except this time I hope people understand the growth and mistakes required for a company that's doing innovative new things.
Supposedly there have been a few vehicles with the skateboard/rollerskate underpinnings that were rebodied driving around. So if you see an Expedition running around and it isn't making any noise, it could be a Rivian (I don't know if any of this is true, or what bodies they would have used).
Robbie said:bcp2011 said:mtn said:Was it an ownership stake? For the next few years (and for the purpose of getting a return on their investment) it makes no difference, but I don't think it is an ownership stake.
Every source I've seen says it's an equity stake in Rivian, rather than an upfront payment for vans.
I was going to ask how you "invest" in a company without taking some sort of ownership stake. I thought that was the point of buying/selling shares - that each one is a small slice of ownership?
Amazon could have loaned the money rather than bought a stake, with some sort of repayment structure set up.
In reply to mtn :
There is a lot of road construction in the area where I work, so I spend a good amount of time sitting still while oncoming traffic is allowed to go.
Teslas sound exactly the same as gasoline powered vehicles, at least at around 30ish miles per hour. The dominant traffic sound is tire noise, and I assume the rest is the wind noise of the vehicle punching a hole in the air.
Modern IC engine packages are QUIET.
This is killer news.
I go to Sno*Drift every year with a couple of their designers. There's been talk of how advanced their tech is compared to the other players in the electric game for years and years now. Was kind of hard to believe until this past year.
Apparently this Sno*Drift they're bringing a mule. I'm kind of excited but also kind of scared... I pulled the one guy's 997 out of a ditch a few years back when a day of rally excitement got his confidence a little too high.
mtn said:Amazon could have loaned the money rather than bought a stake, with some sort of repayment structure set up.
Very unlikely (like 99.999999% unlikely, but not impossible). It's a startup with some technology. Unlikely a mature business with cash flows or real estate or inventory, there's nothing to loan it against. Nobody in their right minds would take all downside risk for no upside risk.
ebelements said:I go to Sno*Drift every year with a couple of their designers. There's been talk of how advanced their tech is compared to the other players in the electric game for years and years now. Was kind of hard to believe until this past year.
Did he share (or can you share) what exactly their tech advantage is? Really curious where EV bottlenecks are from an engineering perspective (outside of you know, expensive batteries).
In reply to bcp2011 :
Well I don't think they shared enough specifics to really answer your question as well as it deserves, but they've been talking up their range and autonomous capabilities for quite some time. Apparently there are mules in the Michigan area that can(and do!?) drive themselves around, even in rain and snow.
When are they planning on delivering the first batch ?
Well Amazon be ordering a special body for delivery and drone landings !
Any drawings of the van yet ?
yupididit said:Rivian sounds cool but to me because they have nothing to show in the road yet, I can't get excited. I see that everyone is excited about this company but has anyone actually used these vehicles yet? I know Tesla gets a lot of E36 M3 from people but no one gives this company E36 M3. Confusing. Hopefully, they do well but they will have issues and pains as they come out. Just like Tesla, except this time I hope people understand the growth and mistakes required for a company that's doing innovative new things.
Slippery said:Yes, but the “Villan” has four different car designs driving around while Rivian has how many? I dont know where you came up with the quality comparison since Rivian hasnt mass produced anything.
Whether you want to admit it or not, what the Villan has done is IMPRESSIVE.
Anyways, why is he a Villan? Honest question since I have no clue what he has done thats so bad.
There is a big difference. First off, Bond Villain isn't necessarily a pejorative. The dude builds private rockets, sends cars into space and acts like an eccentric. All we need now is dolphins with frickin space lasers and he's all in. He's doing schoolboy fantasy stuff as a larger than life character. He's also shaken up the whole industry by actually doing what people thought couldn't yet be done.
Tesla as a company get's E36 M3 from people inside, and outside, the industry for how they are doing things, not what they are doing. I know people who have interviewed there. I've met people who have worked (note past tense) there both from the auto industry and from other industries. Most of the people I know and met all independently say the same things. It's a house of cards that no one understands how it hasn't collapsed yet. It's a completely toxic work environment that sucks you in, bleeds you dry and spits you out. The products. When all is OK are great, but there are massive, very real issues with their quality, service, fit, finish etc. Most of all everyone else in the industry wonders where the hell he finds his legal team as he plays really fast and loose with regulations, technology maturity and liability. Finally, people are literally laughing at the concept of full autonomy without LIDAR, it's just not going to work for all real world situations. The companies has massivly deep pockets to settle everything out of court.
Rivian are staffed by people who know how to build vehicles, plus the people who understand the new technology. There are lot's of vehicles running around. Don't forget Ford has investment in them too and has provided a lot of F series (both F150 and F250's) that are running around as mules with Rivian technology underneath. I know people who have had eyes on one of their vans as well.
I just wonder what the hell Rivian has. With Ford and GM dumping hundreds of millions for a stake and now Amazon with this near-absurd order to a company with no production line, Rivian either has cracked some new battery technology for absurd capacities (solid state?) or has found a cheaper way of making lithium cells far beyond what we currently know.
The article doesn't elaborate, but I assume those 100,000 orders will be spread out over some number of years.
In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :
Or is approaching the whole industry in the right manner, plus good technology.
stuart in mn said:The article doesn't elaborate, but I assume those 100,000 orders will be spread out over some number of years.
Oh yeah, they're producing them over 5-7 years. Even still, it took Tesla 7 years to get to that scale of production with the Model 3- that's why I wonder if they're technology makes manufacturing batteries far cheaper and easier than before.
Adrian_Thompson said:In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :
Or is approaching the whole industry in the right manner, plus good technology.
Perhaps. There's FAR more production for lithium and electronics than in 2012 with the first Model S and lord knows what new technologies they have.
But it still bears the same question of "Hows a brand-new company going to do this?" I wonder if they already have a plant lined up for purchase, or already have OEM production of parts and service being set up...
In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :
I'll ask around
Hmmm, if you buy a big stake in a company, then give that company a big ass contract, isn't that on some level insider trading?
Kreb said:Hmmm, if you buy a big stake in a company, then give that company a big ass contract, isn't that on some level insider trading?
Is Rivian publicly traded?
Privately owned, IIRC.
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