RIVIAN R1T WILL BEAT TESLA CYBERTRUCK, HUMMER EV, FORD F-150 EV TO MARKET

The electric pickup truck segment is continuing to grow, despite the fact that there isn’t really a truck that buyers can get their hands on at this point. Thanks to a message to customers published by TechCrunch, we now know that the Rivian R1T should officially become the first battery-powered pickup to come up for sale.

According to the message later confirmed by Rivian, the R1T is slated to ship out to customers in June 2021. The Rivian R1S SUV will follow suit a few months later, starting deliveries some time that August. The new delivery dates come after production of the electric vehicles was delayed this year as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Originally, Rivian was scheduled to launch its very first vehicles from its Normal, Illinois assembly plant as soon as December. MC&T’s own sources confirmed the timeline change.

The Rivian R1T and R1S will be produced at the Normal, Illinois facility that the company purchased from Mitsubishi. We don’t have any estimated production figures from Rivian at this point, nor do we know at the rate at which the vehicles will be produced. What we do know is that the trucks will offer a 180 kWh battery pack and quad-motor setup producing over 750 horsepower. That will propel the Rivian R1T to 60 mph in around 3.0 seconds, while offering up to 400 miles of range. And it can do zero-degree turns like a tank.

When GMC teased the Hummer EV, they were quick to state that they would be the first automaker to get an electric truck to market. While nobody was planning to have to deal with a global pandemic, it is clear at this point that the General won’t be living up to that promise. The Tesla Cybertruck doesn’t appear to be ready to answer Rivian at this point either, leaving the newcomer to start its hold on the segment. Meanwhile, Bollinger Motors is targeting a 2021 launch for its B1 and B2 electric vehicles, but it’s not clear as to when exactly next year that will happen. Now we just have to wait and see if Rivian is able to entice buyers away from the Cult of Elon or the backing of Detroit’s automakers.