Over the previous yr, a hanging shift has occurred within the Hamptons, Palo Alto and different high-end enclaves: Teslas — and being in any away related to Elon Musk — are out. Rivians and Lucids are in for these trying to sign their environmentally aware bonafides.
“Everyone is dumping their Cybertruck — they are desperate to find someone to take them away,” Matthew Ammirati, founding father of the Bridgehampton Motoring Firm which works with high-end automotive collectors, advised me.
Rivian’s electrical vehicles are gaining traction amongst rich consumers just because they haven’t any affiliation with Elon Musk (and by extension Donald Trump). This regardless of their premium sticker costs: R1T pickup vehicles begin at $70,000, whereas R1S SUVs begin at $75,000 — roughly thrice greater than a base-model Tesla.
Based on Rivian, the corporate has 114,000 individuals on waitlist for his or her SUVs and vehicles, with some clients being advised they received’t get their vehicles till 2026 — a sign that the vehicles are about standing, not urgently needing a experience.
“On the high end, Rivians have become front and center,” Dan Ives, the Managing Director and Senior Fairness Analysis Analyst protecting the Know-how sector at Wedbush Securities, advised me. “You’re seeing a lot more Rivians in East Hampton.”
Rivian has even invested in a brand new charging station-store mixture within the Hamptons, solely the second of its variety globally. (The opposite is in Yosemite, California.)
Only a yr in the past, Rivian confronted extreme monetary struggles, with a declining inventory value, deliveries dropping, and Elon Musk posting on X the corporate would find yourself bankrupt.
Miraculously, the corporate rotated, thanks partly to a $5 billion Volkswagen partnership.
The embrace of Rivian and Lucid automobiles, nevertheless, is absolutely solely doable for a handful of rich consumers given their penchant for breaking down so steadily.
“Rivians and Lucid are a nightmare from charging, insurance, accident — it would win most likely to get a car stuck on the beach,” Ammirati mentioned.
Travis Ketchum, who runs a software program agency and opinions vehicles on the aspect out of Seattle, Wash., switched from a Tesla to a Rivian final yr due to the politics fairly than the standard of the automotive.
Whereas he doesn’t remorse it, he acknowledged that it has include plenty of setbacks.
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“It’s often months before your car can be seen [for repair at a dealership] and it’ll be there days before people start working on it,” he mentioned. He and his household have a number of back-up automobiles for when their Rivian breaks down
Whereas Rivian and Lucid seems to have overtaken Tesla in some unique enclaves, analysts recommend that Elon Musk is unperturbed by the lack of high-end consumers.
It’s “not a bad thing for Tesla,” Ives famous. “But now the Tesla customer is the masses — they are focused on a more reasonable price point and autonomous cars.”
Whereas Elon Musk’s current fissure with Donald Trump appears to profit his share value, any kind of detente or reconciliation may truly be useful long-term as Musk tries to get approval for his Robo-taxis and seeks doable authorities contracts for the automobiles.
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