VW/Rivian Partnership Plows ahead with Billions to Boot

[@Rob_Womack]

I still think when you rebranded you should have gone with "Brighter than Herbert". Would have been fun.

[@FutureAzA]

Missed opportunity. Might see that rebrand on the first of April.

[@Rob_Womack]

@@FutureAzA I usually charge $10.00 for ideas, but this one's on the house.

[@williamminehan4416]

Brian. I miss the old show on Tuesday night. Fast charging with B and B. Maybe a reunion? It was always calls to listen to you guys talk about what was going on with electric vehicles

[@r.a.monigold9789]

This really is GOOD NEWS. EVs need competition and I.C.E. makers need help learning which end of an extension cord plugs in to an EV. Like my nine fingered shop teacher used to say - nothing is broken until you can't fix it anymore. And if you THINK you can't fix it, keep looking for more ideas. This is a match made in the kitchen "utility drawer" somewhere between the loose rubber bands and the old pencil stubs. A Volksivian or a Rivagon - either will do.

[@slowercuber7767]

Plus the new Scout line looks very Rivian-esque.

[@slowercuber7767]

5:40 lol as I said. The eyes, have it.

[@ridewithme1098]

As an old artist once said: "There's nothing new under the Sun, everything's been done before." This is somewhat of a misnomer, in that we know every once in a while someone comes along and creates an entirely new way of visualizing and creating. But, at the same time; "we are all standing on the shoulders of giants." Tesla is very much like a company that broke the mold, when it comes to thinking everythings already been done, so while others are are constantly rehashing old ideas. Tesla is the opposite of that. But, in a way, still standing on the shoulders of those who came before. Does that meke sense?

[@christopherrubicam4474]

Rivian needs to drastically reduce costs. Money infusion and partnership doesn’t lower costs.

[@FutureAzA]

Absolutely!

[@machoopichoo2]

Rivian recently took large strides to reduce the cost of their models and reportedly cut costs by around 35% overall. Probably still not enough but a good job to head in the right direction.

[@appl314]

Just a bit of trivia...Humpy dumpty was a british cannon that fell off its foundation.

[@highlanderapparel]

Brian, I wasn’t gonna ask about the red hair but I sure as hell was curious yeah Highlander😊

[@elvinthalund5193]

For Rivian's software to work in the scout, the Scout has to have the hardware the software can operate, meaning it makes sense the Scout models are a rebranded Rivian R1 or R2.

[@machoopichoo2]

That's a good point missed by many. Now, this really comes down to actuators, as far as I understand, so possibly the models can be quite different but the same suppliers with the same actuators would be needed. Or, possibly the Rivian architecture is more agnostic then legacy auto stuff but probably not enough to overcome the point you made.

[@elvinthalund5193]

@@machoopichoo2 It's all components that now are controlled centrally by software rather than a switch/knop and control module from a supplier component. Windows, seats and any thing VW today by as separate components from suppliers. If you get the Rivian software you would also use the same suppliers and can get a much better deal from the suppliers.

[@machoopichoo2]

​@@elvinthalund5193 I think we are in agreement. I am just suggesting that adopting the Rivian architecture/software doesn't mean VW has to use the exact same parts as Rivian does (requiring models to be near copies of each other). They just need to use suppliers/parts that can work with Rivian's system. Sure, economies of scale are another factor. But, despite VW's general incompetence, they are the big dog here and can bring more economies of scale to the situation than Rivian. I understand Jim Farley's complaint about having hundreds (thousands?) of different actuators that all have their own software. However, the solution seems to be to create a good architecture, make more stuff yourself, then force suppliers to fit your system.

[@thomasdoyle5529]

Hay Brian, I am planning on buying a Tesla model 3 but am confused. Since Tesla makes upgrades on the fly it is hard to determine the best time line to look for. Also, is there enough upgrade/changes to the current production model 3 to warrant spending the extra money over say a 2023 model 3? A thread on this subject would be appreciated.

[@gwillikers4467]

Knee deep in the big muddy and the big man said push on

[@machoopichoo2]

The fact that VW is investing so heavily in Scout exposes two common legacy auto problems: - They believe brands have more value than they do (and I am a brand guy). Brand loyalty is diminishing greatly. - They can't see the forest for the trees. If a rugged medium sized SUV was such a great product the market was clambering for, why did Ford discontinue the Bronco and only recently bring it back to strong demand. Ford was sitting on a Jeep for years and squandering it.

[@davidhuber6251]

I wonder if Ford and/or VW dealerships will ever become certified to repair Rivians...

[@FutureAzA]

That would certainly make things easier.

[@nickhollingsworth2838]

Will we see a US company purchase a Chinese EV shop or vice versa to produce a low cost EVs stateside and avoid tariffs

[@JackLemp-tm8fg]

EV made by China in the US won’t be cheap. They make them with low labor costs in China. Also the supply chain will be far away.

[@MoreOnEVs]

If you’re a fan of Out of Spec you’d have heard that VW has already drastically improved their software. That said, Rivian is better. I hope that giving their software to Scout won’t be a self destructive move

[@scottmiller2159]

I think there will be more mergers and acquisitions in the automotive space in the next couple of years as legacy and struggling EV companies fight for survival

[@wayofflow955]

Isn’t Amazon investing in Rivian?

[@FutureAzA]

They invested in them a few years back.

[@batchint]

I wonder when jacks powered by electronics becomes a ping pong dong….. 🎉🎉🎉

[@FutureAzA]

Almost immediately, I imagine.

[@batchint]

@ …. do you have to be reminded to loosen the lug nuts…though…. ooh just saying

[@ridewithme1098]

It took me all of 15 seconds to realize you posted all your old videos. 😅

[@FutureAzA]

The channel was hacked on Monday, and they moved all the videos to PRIVATE in order to post a single scam video. Moving them back to public had the effect of publishing them as if for the very first time.

[@machoopichoo2]

@@FutureAzA That really sucks. As mentioned in another comment, consider 2FA with a Yubikey. It's more secure than other forms of 2FA and is not expensive.

[@ridewithme1098]

@FutureAzA ah, I see. That's the part I didn't know. Glad you were able to get it all sorted.

[@Will-be-free]

How easy is it to copy someone else's software? Wouldn't they need to have very similar hardware for it to make any sense?

[@FutureAzA]

Their hardware isn't dissimilar. They all buy from the same suppliers.

[@vanrozay8871]

Two wounded lions nursing each other: not a bad idea. It just may save both. VW was failing, and Rivian needed capital.

[@FutureAzA]

That's how I see it.

[@Eudamonia-123]

A young innovative Rivian team will find a bloated VW bureaucratic millstone around their neck. Not optimistic.

[@scottmcshannon6821]

this a great deal for VW, a pretty shitty deal for rivian. VW gets software at least a 100 times better than their own, rivian, who desperately needs cash, gets a billion dollars of almost useless stock; and a PROMISE of MAYBE 5 billion more almost useless stock. better sell the stock immediately, the value will only go down.

[@throker]

Seriously, what is this supposed to be.? A bunch of pointless jibber jabber and then you just read news copy. I'm capable of reading I don't need you to read it to me. So what value do you think you are delivering to the viewer? Your own brand of eclectic weirdness??

[@FutureAzA]

Trolling used to be an artform when someone would go onto a forum and post content that got other people fighting with each other. These days, it’s just being insulting, and even at that you're absolutely terrible. If you can't say something nice, say something clever, but devastating. 1 out of 10.