According to information shared with us by the Rivian Owners Forum, current Rivian R1T reservation holders may be able to take advantage of delivery in six to eight weeks or sooner. In order to make this happen, those with standing orders will have to choose a pre-configured model from Rivian's new R1 Shop within a week of receiving an invitation.
To be clear, the program only applies to people who are already waiting on the delivery of a Rivian R1T that they previously configured. These order-holders will have to cancel their preordered model if they choose one of the models Rivian has listed as available in the R1 Shop. It's not 100 percent clear whether the option will be available for people who pre-ordered an R1S electric SUV, or if there are even pre-configured R1S options available at this point.
While you may not be able to get the R1T in the exact configuration you had hoped for, this program may allow you to take delivery of your new electric pickup truck far ahead of when your original order may be delivered. If you're eager to take delivery, this may be the ticket, and it seems Rivian will have a variety of pre-configured options available in the R1 Shop.
Rivian Owners Forum notes that the startup electric automaker has already sent out an email with details about the new R1 Shop. The opening of the Rivian email reads as follows:
"In May, we reached out to some of you, via survey and Guide conversations, to see if you were interested in reconfiguring your preorder to take delivery sooner. The volume and enthusiasm of the responses told us it was a path worth exploring."
The email goes on to explain that starting in June 2022, Rivian is introducing the new R1 Shop online experience to provide "invited preorder holders the opportunity to swap" their previously configured R1 vehicle for a pre-configured option that can be delivered sooner. Since it specifically notes "R1 vehicle," and not R1T or R1S, perhaps there's a plan for pre-configured R1S options in the pipeline.
In order to access the R1 Shop, you'll need to be invited by Rivian. The automaker noted last week that the first shop invitations would go out to some of the earliest R1T reservation holders. However, the forum shares that the shop currently only provides "basic" details about vehicle configurations, and there's no VIN provided.
What do you think? Is it worth it for reservation holders to consider this as an option? Do we have any Rivian reservation holders in our audience? What would you do?
