Invitations to configure Rivian’s electric truck with the currently available options will start going out soon, bringing to an end what was a yearslong journey for some.
For some Rivian R1T reservation holders, the wait is almost over. “Thousands of R1T reservation holders can expect an invitation from us in the coming days,” says Andy Bowman, director of communications at Rivian. “Once their order is confirmed, they can expect to take delivery in the next 1-4 months.”
The announcement comes as the EV startup has struggled to ramp up production, leaving many people on the waitlist for a year or more. The company has a big backlog to work through, too — it’s not sharing how many reservations it has anymore, but last September, the count was around 114,000, according to The Wall Street Journal.
According to a Rivian support article, those who get the invitation to order an R1T will get access to the configurator, which they can use to decide which options they want. Some configurations apparently won’t be available if the company won’t be able to deliver them within the next four months. According to Bowman, the options you’ll have to wait for include the dual motor drivetrain, max pack battery, and some vegan leather options.
However, it’s worth noting the company’s warning: if you decide to wait for those, the pricing and availability may change before you’re able to place an order. (Last year, Rivian tried to raise preorder prices by up to $20K before quickly backtracking — but it could always happen again.)
If you choose to configure your truck with the options currently available, you’ll then have to confirm your order. Doing so means that “the factory options for your order will be price-protected,” as long as you don’t make any changes, and that you should expect to get your Rivian within the next one to four months.
In its earnings report last month, the company said it expects to make around 50,000 vehicles this year, though they likely won’t all be R1Ts — the company is also selling an SUV, the R1S, and electric delivery vehicles for Amazon. Those with R1S reservations will likely have to wait a little longer. According to the support article, “invitations are only being sent to R1T reservation holders” at the moment.
Last quarter, Rivian says it delivered 8,054 vehicles. While the number was lower than analysts predicted (a fact that seems to have driven down its stock), it is almost double the “25,000-plus” vehicles the company had produced up to the end of 2022.
