[brasmus30]

I have a max battery pack as part of my preorder and I'm wondering if Rivian has built, or knows how to build, a max pack batter configuration. Putting aside the current challenges with batter supply, do we have any information from Rivian on just how "real" the max batter config is? Or, are they selling something that just has not yet been built?

 

[LoudMusic]

I don't have any actual answers but I suspect the difference in pack sizes is simply the number of cells included. So the "less than MAX" batteries will actually have void space in the pack area.

 

[R99]

I have a max battery pack as part of my preorder and I'm wondering if Rivian has built, or knows how to build, a max pack batter configuration. Putting aside the current challenges with batter supply, do we have any information from Rivian on just how "real" the max batter config is? Or, are they selling something that just has not yet been built?

If Rivian has built any max battery pack vehicles its for testing purposes. They haven't delivered any max pack vehicles yet. I have no doubt that Rivian can make those packs but resources are an issue and they want to get as many vehicles out as possible right now.

 

[Jorge746]

Funny, I changed my Max pack order to the standard battery, and after about 2 weeks changed back to Max yesterday.
In those two weeks I surveyed charging outside the Bay Area and, well, changed back to the Max battery pack. Coverage is thin even for our major interstate between The Bay and LA. There are chargers, yes, but they are in 2s and 3s, documented to work intermittently, and not provide near the max charge rates. I can’t imagine trying to use those on a holiday (or just busy) weekend. Even with our Tesla where there are dozens of Superchargers on the same highway we have had to wait 30 minutes to get a charger on a holiday weekend.

 

[Yossarian]

I have a max battery pack as part of my preorder and I'm wondering if Rivian has built, or knows how to build, a max pack batter configuration. Putting aside the current challenges with batter supply, do we have any information from Rivian on just how "real" the max batter config is? Or, are they selling something that just has not yet been built?

I think the Max pack is real, but its size limits its use to the R1T. There is evidence, but no real confirmation, for this belief.

Rivian presently allows customers to opt for the Max pack on the R1T, though not the R1S and never has. This is a significant change from what Rivian initially indicated with respect to the Max and the R1S. When I first put my deposit in place, May of 2020, the website referenced the Max battery pack option for both the R1S and the R1T. When the configurator went live, you could only configure the R1T with it. Not only did Rivian not offer it as an option for the R1S, they also removed any reference to "Max" on the SUV webpage. Calls to CS about this confirm that it's been removed, and the reps are careful to say only some form of "we're working on a longer range battery pack for the R1S and hope to be able to offer it in the near future. That "near future" has been well over a year however.

My reservation is for an R1T Max, and the December 2021 email from Rivian with my delivery window referenced the first half of 2023. Others have gotten a second half of 2023 window for their R1T Max reservation. As far as I'm aware, Rivian has not offered a Max delivery window in 2022.

As an editorial comment, given the parts shortages, supply chain issues and general production difficulties that Rivian is experiencing, I strongly suspect that no R1T Max's will be in driveways until very late in 2023 at the earliest. I'll also say that I strongly suspect Rivian will not offer anything other than the 135 kWh battery pack (aka, the Long Range pack) on the quad-motor R1S; the "Longer Range" will be deferred until the dual-motor R1S is available.

So to recap, given that Rivian allows new customer to configure their R1T pre-order with the Max battery, and has also provided delivery windows for the R1T Max to many existing pre-order holders, I'm satisfied that it's real.

 

[jbronko1]

I have a Max pack on order. I ordered in Nov '21, so I'm sure it will be 12+ months for me. They've told me second half of 2023. If it looks like any later than that, I think it's likely I will go with my Silverado pre-order if that would happen much sooner (though I prefer a midsize) or just lease an ICE Ranger or Colorado for 2 years and buy a Rivian a couple of years later. Reading these boards, there are an awful lot of compromising you have to make as an early adopter, and this will be my primary vehicle.

 

[Epicloop]

I have a R1T max pack on order from Nov 26/18. At this point I don't doubt it will be 5 years to delivery date. It is quite honorable of them to hold the price this long, I don't expect the same on the C/T order. In the I original confirmation email they stated that the 135 & 180kwh packs will be available first. I am curious what will be available sooner this or the C/T, I need the extra range for towing. They called earlier this year and asked if I wanted the large pack but I did not want to be disappointed with range so I said I'll wait. I ordered the R1S as well, with a delivery date of late this summer.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I have a R1T max pack on order from Nov 26/18. At this point I don't doubt it will be 5 years to delivery date. It is quite honorable of them to hold the price this long, I don't expect the same on the C/T order. In the I original confirmation email they stated that the 135 & 180kwh packs will be available first. I am curious what will be available sooner this or the C/T, I need the extra range for towing. They called earlier this year and asked if I wanted the large pack but I did not want to be disappointed with range so I said I'll wait. I ordered the R1S as well, with a delivery date of late this summer.

As disappointing the Max pack delay was, I would still expect it before the CT.

R1T deliveries are happening at a good pace, now. We still haven’t even seen the production-intent CT!

 

[Yossarian]

I have a R1T max pack on order from Nov 26/18. At this point I don't doubt it will be 5 years to delivery date. It is quite honorable of them to hold the price this long, I don't expect the same on the C/T order. In the I original confirmation email they stated that the 135 & 180kwh packs will be available first. I am curious what will be available sooner this or the C/T, I need the extra range for towing. They called earlier this year and asked if I wanted the large pack but I did not want to be disappointed with range so I said I'll wait. I ordered the R1S as well, with a delivery date of late this summer.

Wholeheartedly agree with @CommodoreAmiga. Rivian is delivering the R1T in [slowly] increasing numbers and the Max Pack for the R1T is designed and will be introduced into the Rivian production line in the near future. While I personally believe that R1T Max deliveries will not start in earnest (meaning in the hundreds, not handfuls) until late in 2023, that is likely to still be months ahead of the Cybertruck. I also have a pre-order in for the CT, and like you, don't for a minute think that Tesla will honor the original pricing.

I initially had two pre-orders in place, one for the R1T and the other for the R1S. I canceled one when I learned that we could change configuration without penalty, which in retrospect turns out to have been a mistake. Though I really want the R1S, I need a larger battery so have an R1T Max configured. As it turns out, Rivian will not be producing the R1S with a 180 kWh pack as they originally indicated, and they removed all language to that effect from their website more than a year ago. It seems likely that there will eventually be a larger capacity battery pack - Rivian CS references a "longer range" R1S when asked about a bigger battery - but which R1S (quad or dual motor) it will be offered on and when it will be available remain unanswered questions.

If I had to bet though, I'd wager that even the R1S Longer Range will beat the Cybertruck to market.

 

[Epicloop]

I guess I overlooked an email, my max pack R1T ordered Nov 2018 has a estimated delivery of the first half of 2023. I am pretty confident that will beat the C/T to market as well as almost certainly cost less now that the trimotor is seemingly upgraded to quad motor configuration. This is also a year before current orders for the Silverado RST and at a lower cost even if they don't have a dealer mark up.

 

[SantaFeSpence]

In addition to an R1T Max, I have reservations for refreshed Tesla S and X that I made a year ago. Tesla is honoring the pre-price increase/s cost, so I’m ahead roughly $14,000-20,000 on the X and S respectively. Tesla has been excellent on honoring the price given when a reservation is made, so I imagine the CT price won’t change from the time you ordered one. However, I’d also bet that the price for new orders will increase Quite a bit.

 

[Michael W. 56]

I don't have any actual answers but I suspect the difference in pack sizes is simply the number of cells included. So the "less than MAX" batteries will actually have void space in the pack area.

They said the max and R1S 7 pax had no room for the largest battery. If there was a void, you could theoretically add more cells yourself to get max range.
That being said, if they made the 7 pax longer behind the rear seats, there would be more room, even for a full-sized spare.

 

[LoudMusic]

They said the max and R1S 7 pax had no room for the largest battery. If there was a void, you could theoretically add more cells yourself to get max range.
That being said, if they made the 7 pax longer behind the rear seats, there would be more room, even for a full-sized spare.

Well I think there's a bit more to it than popping in some AA batteries.

 

[Michael W. 56]

Well I think there's a bit more to it than popping in some AA batteries.

Yeah, I know that.
The YOU would involve a bit of reprogramming and some suspension adjustments.

 

[jclicky]

Hmmmm…so our collective speculation here is that the smaller wheelbase of the R1S means no max pack ever for R1S?
Trying to consider which reservation to make, an R1T or R1S. The max pack is the most important feature for me, though I would prefer & am content to wait a year for an R1S with a Max Pack.

 

[sciencegeek]

Hmmmm…so our collective speculation here is that the smaller wheelbase of the R1S means no max pack ever for R1S?
Trying to consider which reservation to make, an R1T or R1S. The max pack is the most important feature for me, though I would prefer & am content to wait a year for an R1S with a Max Pack.

Well do you want an SUV or a truck?

 

[jclicky]

Well do you want an SUV or a truck?

SUV, but not if it comes at the expense of a 400+ range. I’d then make it work (less ideal) with the truck. The rear storage area is pretty deep in the R1S so it seems like the max pack should be possible in that build. But if the max pack is & will only ever be made available for the R1T, that makes the decision easy.

TL;DR: max pack is the requirement, will settle for second best, the truck, if no plans to build it into the SUV ever.

 

[sciencegeek]

Why is the max pack a requirement, do you live in very cold climate or do you plan to tow? If not, the max pack gives no advantage (and increases the weight of the vehicle).

 

[Yossarian]

Hmmmm…so our collective speculation here is that the smaller wheelbase of the R1S means no max pack ever for R1S?
Trying to consider which reservation to make, an R1T or R1S. The max pack is the most important feature for me, though I would prefer & am content to wait a year for an R1S with a Max Pack.

No one can say for sure if the reason for killing for the Max on the R1S is its shorter wheelbase, the third row, or something else, but it's not speculation: there is no R1S Max. You surely will have noted that there is no Max option for the R1S on the Rivian website. You can confirm what the website hints at by contacting Rivian CS and asking about an R1S Max. The reply will almost certainly be some version of "the Max option is not offered on the R1S, though we're working on a longer ranger battery and hope to have more information on that in the future."

My guess is that this means that Rivian is working on a battery pack for the R1S that is larger than 135 kWh (the Long Range) but smaller than the Max's 180 kWh. It seems likely to me that size constraints in the R1S are the problem, but except for unofficially confirming that the Max isn't an option for the SUV, Rivian has been completely mum on the subject.

If the Max is a must have, you have no choice at present but to order an R1T. It may well be that a larger battery will become an option for the R1S, but what capacity it will have, and when it will be available are for now, unknowns. The good news is that you can change your configuration without financial penalty at any time. I suspect that you are looking at 2024 delivery for anything ordered now, so if there is an R1S Extended Range on offer next year, you can change your order.

 

[RoundPonda]

Why is the max pack a requirement..??

I live in CT, and have a camp in ME, exactly 305 miles apart. With the MAX Pack, I will be able to always make it a non stop trip, without stressing the life of the R1T batteries. With a 8.5 kW PV system on my roof in CT, the first 300+ miles from CT is practically free.