Lessons Learned From 5 Days Driving a Rivian
I just handed back the keys to this beautiful Rivian R1T which I got to drive for 5 days. As a core member of their target audience, their marketing team reached out to see if my husband and I would like to try it. With ~98k preorders, only 8k shipped, and 25k scheduled to ship this year, I saw it as an exciting opportunity to test drive a highly sought after vehicle to see what all the hype was about.
Driving the truck made me want to learn more about the company. Having recently gone public, I was excited to read their shareholder letter and listen to their earnings call. I was delighted to hear a very engaged CEO and CFO explain the state of the company in a 360 degree way to investors and stakeholders. They have a ways to go to profitability but have built a strong platform on which to grow.
You’ll see that your knowledge of the 60 Minute CFO principles makes reading a public shareholder letter much easier. The key metrics that Rivian focuses on are indicative of a company in start up mode. They are looking at how quickly they are burning through cash (showing a loss), and what they will need in the near term, as well as when they might be showing a profit (or needing to raise more funds). Rivian’ key metrics are:
Gross profit (showing a loss at this point)
Operating Expenses and Loss (showing a loss)
Net Loss
Adjusted EBITDA (negative)
Net cash used in Operating Activities (in the hundreds of millions and higher than last year)
Capital Expenditures (high, but not as high as the year before)
Liquidity and Free Cash Flow (higher than last year due to operating activities)
Notice there are not dozens. While I’m sure their CFO, Claire McDonough has many other metrics she monitors, when communicating with shareholders it’s best to keep the information clear and simple, so that they understand what their numbers are telling them. She has also been praised for having an open and candid communication style with CEO R.J. Scaringe.
We should all follow Rivian’s lead here; humans cannot decipher pages of numbers. We need to keep it simple in order to make analysis meaningful and clear and open communication between CEO and CFO is key.
Now that we’ve gotten a look at their finances… let’s talk about the product.
Here are my pros and cons after driving this high-tech electric truck for 5 days. Note not all of these are Rivian-specific. but rather related to the overall EV experience:
CONS:
Without a charging station at home, I had to seek out a charger at Walmart in my small town of Hood River. On this particular day, the chargers were not working and I was out of luck until I came back the next day.
Charging stations lack things that gas stations have, specifically windshield washers.
The Rivian has regenerative braking, meaning if you take your foot off the pedal, it automatically applies the brake. This is fine for around town, but on longer trips, my foot was fatigued from not being able to coast at all. Cruise control helps, but is not always practical.
The AC vents are not manual, but instead need to be navigated on the screen. This is hard to do quickly when you just want to adjust the vent away from you.
The “frunk” is rather shallow - you aren’t able to fit a bag of groceries standing up.
Range anxiety is real! Getting used to watching the range change based on contents of the car, tech usage, weather, being parked, etc, will take some getting used to.
PROS:
The R1T is a true luxury experience. It’s gorgeous inside and out and has all the amenities you’d expect from a lush sound system to heated and cooled seats.
The tech is super smart. It syncs with your Spotify account and automatically adjusts the volume as you open and close the door.
The navigation system is fabulous - the screen is big and easy to read.
Cab layout is optimal - plenty of foot room and console space for the driver’s items like purses, bags, water bottles, etc.
The wireless phone charger in the console makes life so much easier by providing a spot for your phone and keeping it charged.
For those who are outdoorsy (me), the R1T has all the drive modes you need to go fully off-road, or just camping for the weekend. We tested the truck by climbing up ~5k Mt. Defiance which can be a steep, dusty, rocky scramble, and the truck did not hesitate to conquer the terrain.
Onboard air compressor is awesome for bikes, paddle boards and more.
Ours was equipped with the optional Camp Kitchen, which was a prototype, but is phenomenal in its elegance.
Filling it up at the charging station from empty to 100% cost $44. Reportedly, charging at home would cost even less. An F150 would cost ~$115 for a full tank.
Speed and “get up” was amazing. It’s fast and powerful.
Charging in remote locations could be an issue, but Rivian is building out stations off the beaten path to compensate for this.
Conclusion:
There’s no question that EVs are here to stay. Legislation passed in California banning new sales of gas cars by 2035 and all of the push from the government to incentivize electric cars means you can’t ignore them.
Once adapted to the range and charging concepts, I honestly forgot the truck was electric. It exceeded all of my needs for driving and functionality and it is definitely on the list for our next vehicle purchase.