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Rivian's platform approach to electric vehicles helped it raise $3B this year

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Re: Rivian's platform approach to electric vehicles helped it raise $3B this year

#151
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if youve used the average pickup truck in the last 5-6 years but side loading is pointless/impossible because the bed is so high. I am over 6' tall and can't put stuff into the bed of an f150, Silverado, etc without needing to use step rails.

the Load to Floor Height of a 2013 F-150 4x4 Crew Cab was ~35 inches, the inside box height was 22.5 inches, so the Bed Height to Ground was ~57in the Load to Floor Height of a 2019 F-150 4x4 Crew Cab was ~36 inches, the inside box height was 21.4 inches, so the Bed Height to Ground was ~57in They increased the height of the Truck by 1 in but lowered the depth of the bed by 1 in over the 2 generations of trucks So ho…

>I am 6'2" Also known as "an unusually tall person"

Re: Rivian's platform approach to electric vehicles helped it raise $3B this year

#152
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla could relatively rapidly release a comparable competitor if it becomes obvious they are losing a large market share for certain segment.

Model Y is basically a clone of the Model 3 and it's still not out. You simply can't rapidly make a new car. Years at minimum.

Hence saying "relatively rapidly" - meanwhile other manufacturers are nowhere near creating a vehicle to compete with any Tesla vehicle; if wondering why they're 5+ years ahead of competitors in a dense overview, watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uEELWPV8Yc

Re: Rivian's platform approach to electric vehicles helped it raise $3B this year

#153
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention that at this same point 10 years into Tesla’s existence the Model S was in full production of 1,000 cars a week and Motor Trend Car of the Year.

Tesla had the advantage of being the only car company which was 100% committed to electric at that time. 1000 a year is pretty good for luxury eco friendly car in 2009. Rivian cannot sit in the same place. They have to carve out some market segment that loves electric but hates Tesla or get enough funding to stick around for 10 years when Tesla may be vulnerable to competition.

Why do you think Tesla would be more vulnerable to competition in ten years than they are now? I am seriously curious

Re: Rivian's platform approach to electric vehicles helped it raise $3B this year

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what you are talking about. VW Group has already released a car which is in the hands of customers today i.e. Porsche Taycan. And there are plenty of EV cars today from the big auto manufacturers e.g. Audi, BMW, Mercedes. Some of which even outsell all Tesla cars in a country or two. And it's hilarious to see you go on about car companies pre-announcing products when Tesla did exactly the same with the Cyber…

> Some of which even outsell all Tesla cars in a country or two. Which cars, where? Not being snarky, I'm actually curious.

Well, let's look at the world's top two car markets: China and Europe.

The Audi e-tron and the Jaguar I-Pace outsell the Tesla Model X in Europe. The Mercedes EQC will probably also outsell the Model X next year. The VW e-Golf does well in Europe so the Volkswagen ID.3 might outsell the Model 3 in 2020 or maybe 2021: https://ev-sales.blogspot.com/2019/12/europe-november-2019.h...

The Model 3 is outsold by a number of models in China. The Model S and Model X don't make the top 20. Maybe the Chinese built Model 3s will do better next year: https://ev-sales.blogspot.com/2019/12/china-november-2019-up...

Re: Rivian's platform approach to electric vehicles helped it raise $3B this year

#155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the Cybertruck looks like a fantastic SUV, but here would be my critiques of it as a competitor in the pickup truck: As oft stated, the slope of the bed's walls makes side-loading difficult. This may not seem too significant day-to-day given the bed's volume, but if you're doing commercial work (construction, professional moving, etc), you'll get a lot of items that don't properly fit in the bed's volume. Eve…

I'm not sure if youve used the average pickup truck in the last 5-6 years but side loading is pointless/impossible because the bed is so high. I am over 6' tall and can't put stuff into the bed of an f150, Silverado, etc without needing to use step rails.

You aren't wrong about that. I've used a couple late-model trucks (Silverados) at various points, but I prefer to early oughties Rangers and F150s for just that reason.

I don't think that the diminished utility of sideloading on modern trucks entirely diminishes the advantages of not having sloped bed walls, however.

Re: Rivian's platform approach to electric vehicles helped it raise $3B this year

#156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla had the advantage of being the only car company which was 100% committed to electric at that time. 1000 a year is pretty good for luxury eco friendly car in 2009. Rivian cannot sit in the same place. They have to carve out some market segment that loves electric but hates Tesla or get enough funding to stick around for 10 years when Tesla may be vulnerable to competition.

Why do you think Tesla would be more vulnerable to competition in ten years than they are now? I am seriously curious

Size and lack of growth. If they are a 2 trillion dollar company they will not be able to grow nearly as much on a percentage basis at that point. Also it is harder to make big changes at large stable companies to respond to threats and large companies are more likely to ignore much smaller companies.

Re: Rivian's platform approach to electric vehicles helped it raise $3B this year

#158

> On Monday, Rivian announced it had raised $1.3 billion in its fourth funding round of the year, led by T. Rowe Price, bringing its total for 2019 to nearly $2.9 billion. > Rivian has been quietly developing vehicles for a decade, but it seized the industry’s attention in late 2018, when it unveiled a pair of eye-catching, high-end electric trucks. Rivian raised $2.9 billion over four funding rounds in the span of o…

They actually do have lots of sales. Rivian is making a “skate” that is everything but the body of the car. Bolt on the body and you have an EV. Amazon and Ford have made large orders.

No deliveries.

Re: Rivian's platform approach to electric vehicles helped it raise $3B this year

#159
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the Load to Floor Height of a 2013 F-150 4x4 Crew Cab was ~35 inches, the inside box height was 22.5 inches, so the Bed Height to Ground was ~57in the Load to Floor Height of a 2019 F-150 4x4 Crew Cab was ~36 inches, the inside box height was 21.4 inches, so the Bed Height to Ground was ~57in They increased the height of the Truck by 1 in but lowered the depth of the bed by 1 in over the 2 generations of trucks So ho…

>I am 6'2" Also known as "an unusually tall person"

Which is why I own a F-150 and not a Ranger or Colorado

The point I was responding to was the person implied that Full Sized truck beds have some how gotten taller thus less usable from the side in the last 5-6 years, this is completely false

Re: Rivian's platform approach to electric vehicles helped it raise $3B this year

#160

Surprised that no one has yet mentioned the US Postal Service and their fleet of 30+ year old LLV vehicles. Surely someone is trying to convince the USPS to upgrade to an EV based solution? There are 140,000 plus LLVs out there. The last one was made in 1994.

Or Deutsche Post: https://www.dpdhl.com/en/media-relations/specials/electro-mo...

Quote:

===== Electro mobility

Thanks to an array of StreetScooter vehicles, developed and manufactured inhouse, and some 12,000 e-bikes and e-trikes, Deutsche Post DHL Group today operates the largest electric fleet in Germany. For the good of the environment and its customers, the company plans to replace its entire mail and parcel delivery fleet in the mid-term with electric vehicles that are charged with electricity generated from renewable energy sources.

====

Se also https://www.dw.com/en/deutsche-post-dhl-makes-its-own-electr...

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