News and discussion about the automotive industry.
The lack of CarPlay and Android Auto is killing them. Look, I don't care how fancy your UI is, I want an infotainment system that will stay relevant even after the car manufacturer stops updating/goes bankrupt/removes features/starts requiring a subscription.
Consumers have survived enshittification, we're starting to smell the BS before we've bought into it.
says the guy who sells trucks that don't have a power button
YES PLEASE
Yes, it's Steve-O.
And Rivian will become relevant if it ever sells a $40k car.
Could also help if they made replacement parts available to anyone other than their authorized repair shops.
They're working on it, takes time when you're not a massive auto giant
BYD are taking a more sane approach than Rivian. Tesla literally laid the blueprint, Rivian just decided that selling lots wasn't a priority.
Isn't Rivian following Tesla's marketing model? Sell a few high end cars at high margins and then hopefully grow enough to afford factories to mass manufacture cheaper cars.
The Model S had worldwide appeal. People outside of America don't buy pickup trucks.
They are. Selling Halo cars is a good way to set brand identity too. Better yet if it fills a niche in the market no one else is. Rivian starting off with a truck was smart. That it's also imo the best one available still is an impressive accomplishment.
But all that's because Rivian is a car company. There are so many industry vets working there. It will never have the hype of the tech bro disruptive mirage of Tesla. But it will likely outlive Tesla. And they already make higher quality vehicles.
BYD got billions from the Chinese government. Exclusive rights to raw material extraction. The husk of an existing car company with factories ready to go.
Rivan is doing fine in comparison.
Their sane approach being checks notes being heavily government subsidized?
I mean so was Tesla. But look at the cars they produce and how they didn't start with a pickup.
40k? We need economy 10k EVs.
When is the last time a new car was under $10k? Even the tiniest shit boxes you can get haven't been under that bar since at least 2005 if not earlier
Chevy spark is like $15k.