Following a series of delays, the highly anticipated Rivian R1T has finally gone into production. In a tweet, CEO RJ Scaringe marked the milestone as he said the “first customer vehicle drove off our production line in Normal, [Illinois].” The executive went on to praise his employees and say he “can’t wait to get these into the hands of our customers!”
The moment has been years in the making as the R1T originally debuted at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show and was slated to be launched in 2020. Of course, that didn’t happen as the coronavirus threw a wrench in the company’s plan and the model was delayed multiple times for a variety of issues including final approval by government agencies.
As a refresher, the first R1Ts will be Launch Editions that start at US$ 73,000. All of them have already been spoken for and the truck comes equipped with 20- or 22-inch alloy wheels as well as a powered tonneau cover and an air compressor. Buyers will also find a heated leather steering wheel as well as perforated vegan leather seats with heating and ventilation. Other highlights include a Meridian audio system, natural-grained ash wood trim and a 16-inch infotainment system.
Adventure and Explore variants are slated to follow early next year, and the latter starts at US$ 67,500. A US$ 10,000 Max battery is also scheduled to arrive in 2022 and it’s projected to increase the truck’s range from 505 km to 644+ km.
