Deliveries of the Rivian R1T and R1S might have recently been delayed, but the automaker continues to test its EVs in some difficult off-road courses.
Last week, Rivian founder and chief executive RJ Scaringe took to Twitter and shared a video of the R1S testing in Moab, climbing up an incredibly steep slope.
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The R1S prototype appears to be production-ready and isn’t rocking any modifications. It just features a roof rack carrying a spare tire and seems to get up the climb without too much fuss, only chirping its tires on a couple of occasions on the ascent.
Steep Climb! #moab pic.twitter.com/1WCpX7czQP
— RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe) July 23, 2021
When announcing the delay to deliveries of the R1T and R1S in mid-July, Scaringe pinpointed the coronavirus pandemic and semiconductor shortage as the main reasons.
“There are many reasons why our production ramp is taking longer than expected,” he said. “The cascading impacts of the pandemic have had a compounding effect greater than anyone anticipated. Everything from facility construction, to equipment installation, to vehicle component supply (especially semiconductors) has been impacted by the pandemic. Beyond these unforeseen challenges, launching three new vehicles while setting up a multi-vehicle manufacturing plant is a complex orchestra of coordinated and interlinked activities where small issues can translate into ramp delays.”
Scaringe added that Rivian is focused on ensuring the quality of customer vehicles is up to its high standards and won’t compromise just to begin deliveries earlier.