As the year winds down it looks like the Rivian R1T will be the first production electric pickup truck that will make it onto the road. After what has been a tumultuous time for every automaker, Rivan CEO RJ Scaringe shared the first photos of the first production R1T coming off the production line.
While there are many electric trucks to look forward to, many were either initially planned years in advance, or have unfortunately been delayed. Rivian itself has seen its fair share of delays as well, but it looks like it will be able to get the first electric pickup on the road.
Ever since the public debut of the R1T and R1S in 2018, Rivian has been steamrolling ahead. The American startup has earned investments and partnerships from the likes of Amazon and Ford. Their showing was also impressive enough to earn a 100,000 electric van order from Amazon as well. The company is also planned an IPO that would value them at around $80 billion.
Aside from a delay or two that has effect basically every industry, Rivian has seemed to have done everything right. Now we will see if the fruits of their labor have paid off and if the product was worth the build-up. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe took to Twitter to show off the first production R1T. In the tweet, he wrote:
After months of building pre-production vehicles, this morning our first customer vehicle drove off our production line in Normal! Our team’s collective efforts have made this moment possible. Can’t wait to get these into the hands of our customers!
After months of building pre-production vehicles, this morning our first customer vehicle drove off our production line in Normal! Our team's collective efforts have made this moment possible. Can't wait to get these into the hands of our customers! pic.twitter.com/8ZidwTaXRI
— RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe) September 14, 2021
The images show off a large group of employees at the Normal, IL factory seeing off the first Rivian R1T. With production commencing, we should see the first Rivian R1T make it into the hands of customers in the following week. Later on in the year we should see the Rivian R1S also making its way onto the road.
With the delay of the Cybertruck, low planned F150 Lightning Production, and other electric trucks being years away, the Rivian R1T will have free reign. If the R1T is a compelling enough product then we can see some reservation holds opting to try their luck at getting a Rivian instead. Of course, you probably won’t be able to pick one off the lot immediately either, so it’s going to be a wait, any way you look at it.
How are you guys feeling about the Rivian R1T? Let us know down in the comments below.
