I spent some time talking to one of the head engineers at Rivian when I was at the New York International Auto Show back in April. They had their truck and SUV for viewing, questions and also a layout of the "skateboard" design architecture of the chassis.
I really think from a company standpoint they have a better business model and "culture" than Tesla based on my limited interactions with their company and research. Speaking with the engineer he said they have been working on the 2 versions of the truck/SUV for almost 5 years. They also make no mistake what their costs will be (starting about 70K for a 250 mile range entry level battery with limited options) and up to 100K for fully loaded. They know they won't be mass market, but they really believe in their proof of concept for their vehicles and essentially invested in the manufacturing and part supply portion of building a vehicle before fully designing (kinda the opposite of what Tesla has done).
The engineer (as he should be) was more proud of the innovation of some features on the truck as opposed to the electric capability. No engine in the front? Giant trunk for storage. No need for a transfer case or drive shaft? Giant storage space that runs the width of the truck behind the rear seats. The body panels double as steps and the tailgate can go vertically down. No heavy rear diff? Storage all inside the bed of the truck including goodies like an air compressor to fill tired up after driving on the beach all day. All while having towing capability (maybe not range) of the top tier F-150s, Silverados and Rams.
Would Rivian cater to the average person who needs a do it all 4x4 in the 30-50K range? No, probably not. But they probably would rival right in that next range of luxury truck in the 65-85K range (think your King Ranch F series, Limited Ram models) right now. And their goal in the future is to be in the everyday segment. Electric might not be for everyone. But it will be more mainstream the cheaper the batteries and eclectic motors get and infrastructure is built.
Want Proof? How about 2 days after I talked to the engineer, Ford announced a $500 million investment into Rivian to help them build electric F-150s.
Rivian today announced an equity investment of $500 million from Ford Motor Company. In addition to the investment, the companies have agreed to work together to develop an all-new, next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford’s growing EV portfolio using Rivian’s skateboard platform.
media.ford.com