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EV charging - Rivian

theblet

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Was watching some videos about the Rivian EV pickup. My favorite of the ones available. 300 mile range on a 3 ton truck. They did a super charge from 0 to 100% which took about 1.5 hours. Honestly the price isn’t as low as I thought it would be for the charge. About $64 for a “full tank” without the discount. Not much cost savings compared to gas, especially once gas price goes down to pre biden levels. Is it really worth it to buy an $80k truck for this?
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HSKR R/T

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Was watching some videos about the Rivian EV pickup. My favorite of the ones available. 300 mile range on a 3 ton truck. They did a super charge from 0 to 100% which took about 1.5 hours. Honestly the price isn’t as low as I thought it would be for the charge. About $64 for a “full tank” without the discount. Not much cost savings compared to gas, especially once gas price goes down to pre biden levels. Is it really worth it to buy an $80k truck for this?
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Most of your charging will be done at home, costing you pennies. And if not using superchargers the cost is less as well. $64 for a 300 mile range is about on par with a lot of V8 trucks and fuel costs. Especially in states like Cali where fuel prices are higher.
 

djevox

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I say no. If things continue the way they are, you will be paying through the nose for electric, and will have frequent brownouts if the adoption goes into full swing. Tesla has already sent their customer base in Texas letters about not charging their vehicles at certain times. If we shift towards solar and wind, things will get worse for charging vehicles.

The only reason I’m bringing up the following example is because it’s an excellent example of things people may not think about.

In a hearing recently, Rep. Thomas Massie was questioning Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg about electric vehicles. Massie stated the following:
Numbers are important. It would take four times as much electricity to charge the average household's cars as the average household uses on air conditioning. Do you think that could be -- so, if we reach the goal by 2030 that Biden has of -- of 50 percent adoption instead of 100 percent adoption, that means the average household would use twice as much electricity charging one of their cars as they would use for all of the air conditioning that they use for the entire year.
The reason I bring that up is because our infrastructure can’t handle a bunch of that, as well as questions coming to mind of what happens when there are brownout threats and utilities do something radical like ration electric. That may be a long way from happening across the country, but we already see brownouts happening in the Western US.
 

HSKR R/T

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I say no. If things continue the way they are, you will be paying through the nose for electric, and will have frequent brownouts if the adoption goes into full swing. Tesla has already sent their customer base in Texas letters about not charging their vehicles at certain times. If we shift towards solar and wind, things will get worse for charging vehicles.

The only reason I’m bringing up the following example is because it’s an excellent example of things people may not think about.

In a hearing recently, Rep. Thomas Massie was questioning Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg about electric vehicles. Massie stated the following:

The reason I bring that up is because our infrastructure can’t handle a bunch of that, as well as questions coming to mind of what happens when there are brownout threats and utilities do something radical like ration electric. That may be a long way from happening across the country, but we already see brownouts happening in the Western US.
You can't use Texas as an example. They have screwed themselves with the power grid and caused the issue there themselves. Poor management in the private power sector that is controlled by a single provider. And nothing has really been done to fix the problems identified two years ago, as evident by the issues they are still having this summer.

Also the "numbers" most deniers are using, to say the power grid can't handle it, are, worste case scenario, max charge rate numbers. Most of the time, you will never be charging your EV from zero, or low battery, at max rate. You will only be doing partial charges at reduced rate. Home chargers are not superchargers. It's a slower charge rate, which is better for the batteries.
 

theblet

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I saw where he spoke about 4x the cost of running an AC. It probabaly wouldn’t be that high, but electricity bills are already doubled. How much more would our bills go up when charging at home?

The other thing I don’t like is that all this is portrayed at “planet saving”, but the grid is powered mostly by coal and natural gas. In the end I would have to spend double for the vehicle, and still be paying just as much to use it day to day. Hate to think about changing those batteries too. Yikes.
 

Mountain Whiskey

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I saw where he spoke about 4x the cost of running an AC. It probabaly wouldn’t be that high, but electricity bills are already doubled. How much more would our bills go up when charging at home?

The other thing I don’t like is that all this is portrayed at “planet saving”, but the grid is powered mostly by coal and natural gas. In the end I would have to spend double for the vehicle, and still be paying just as much to use it day to day. Hate to think about changing those batteries too. Yikes.
Yea, giant lithium batteries are great for the environment. Heck, just recycle them back to mother earth where they were mined from. What could go wrong?
 

djevox

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I saw where he spoke about 4x the cost of running an AC. It probabaly wouldn’t be that high, but electricity bills are already doubled. How much more would our bills go up when charging at home?

The other thing I don’t like is that all this is portrayed at “planet saving”, but the grid is powered mostly by coal and natural gas. In the end I would have to spend double for the vehicle, and still be paying just as much to use it day to day. Hate to think about changing those batteries too. Yikes.
On top of that replacement cost, what happens when they discontinue the battery like the early Ford Focus EV and Chevy Spark (w/14.8kWh battery). There’s no good solution yet, which is screwing people right now.
 

theblet

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Good point. Here’s the skinny on tesla battery replacement. Way too much imo. I just don’t think it’s worth the money or hassle at this point. Maybe in a smog filled city with a hyped up power grid, where you can charge at work and at home.

How much does it cost to replace a Tesla battery? Tesla battery replacement cost varies depending on the labor and parts needed. Typically, the most basic battery replacement in tesla costs between $13,000 and $14,000. For the Model S premium sedan, replacing a Tesla battery costs around $13,000-$20,000.
 

Mountain Whiskey

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If you work at a place with free charging, it makes total sense to go electric (with gas backup vehicle for when the government cuts the cord on you).

Oh, and yea, buy Rivian! That $99 IPO stock I bought is going for about $30 now so boost those sales!
 

theblet

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If you work at a place with free charging, it makes total sense to go electric (with gas backup vehicle for when the government cuts the cord on you).

Oh, and yea, buy Rivian! That $99 IPO stock I bought is going for about $30 now so boost those sales!
Definitely need a gas backup. Can you imagine down here in the south during hurricane season? Everyone bumper to bumper evacuating run out of battery juice, then no electricity for two weeks when you get back. 😬 but if you leave the vehicle here and it floods, then you’ll return to a shorted out pile of garbage.

I almost bought that stock too. Sry MW!
 

jloops

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Man you could buy a lot of gas for $13,000 plus you’ve got to add the cost of charging the battery on top of that $13,000 replacement cost.

$13,000 divided by $5.00 (Biden) per gallon of gas = 2,600 gallons x 15 mpg avg = 39,000 miles.

$13,000 divided by $2.50 (Trump) per gallon of gas = 5,200 gallons x 15 mpg avg = 78,000 miles.

Then imagine if you have a vehicle that averages more than 15 mpg. But hey just think of all those little kids we’re keeping employed mining those batteries.
 

HSKR R/T

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Man you could buy a lot of gas for $13,000 plus you’ve got to add the cost of charging the battery on top of that $13,000 replacement cost.

$13,000 divided by $5.00 (Biden) per gallon of gas = 2,600 gallons x 15 mpg avg = 39,000 miles.

$13,000 divided by $2.50 (Trump) per gallon of gas = 5,200 gallons x 15 mpg avg = 78,000 miles.

Then imagine if you have a vehicle that averages more than 15 mpg. But hey just think of all those little kids we’re keeping employed mining those batteries.
The cost of charging the battery, 90% of the time in your garage, is less than $5 a charge, and that's being generous with how much you need to charge it. Probably more like $10 a week on daily commuting. You would burn a lot more money is gas over the same period.

I don't think the technology is there for ramping up sales and trying to replace ICE vehicles. But they are a very viable option for the people who can afford the initial cost. And will save money long term.
 

theblet

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Man you could buy a lot of gas for $13,000 plus you’ve got to add the cost of charging the battery on top of that $13,000 replacement cost.

$13,000 divided by $5.00 (Biden) per gallon of gas = 2,600 gallons x 15 mpg avg = 39,000 miles.

$13,000 divided by $2.50 (Trump) per gallon of gas = 5,200 gallons x 15 mpg avg = 78,000 miles.

Then imagine if you have a vehicle that averages more than 15 mpg. But hey just think of all those little kids we’re keeping employed mining those batteries.
My trump has was less than $2. Most of the battery components come from China as well. Those also require fossil fuels to mine them.
 

Mountain Whiskey

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Man you could buy a lot of gas for $13,000 plus you’ve got to add the cost of charging the battery on top of that $13,000 replacement cost.

$13,000 divided by $5.00 (Biden) per gallon of gas = 2,600 gallons x 15 mpg avg = 39,000 miles.

$13,000 divided by $2.50 (Trump) per gallon of gas = 5,200 gallons x 15 mpg avg = 78,000 miles.

Then imagine if you have a vehicle that averages more than 15 mpg. But hey just think of all those little kids we’re keeping employed mining those batteries.
It's all about the kids man! Think of the kids! 🤣
 

PurpleRT

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I see quite a few of those Rivian trucks up here where I’m working at now in Washington. Hideous lol, and very small bed. I expected much better for how much those trucks cost.

I agree unless you can charge at the office if I’m paying $60+ to use a supercharger to charge I rather buy gas.


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theblet

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The cost of charging the battery, 90% of the time in your garage, is less than $5 a charge, and that's being generous with how much you need to charge it. Probably more like $10 a week on daily commuting. You would burn a lot more money is gas over the same period.

I don't think the technology is there for ramping up sales and trying to replace ICE vehicles. But they are a very viable option for the people who can afford the initial cost. And will save money long term.
I use about 2 to 3 gallons a day commuting about 40 miles. Guess in the really long run it would be beneficial. That’s if you never have to change the batteries
 

HSKR R/T

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I use about 2 to 3 gallons a day commuting about 40 miles. Guess in the really long run it would be beneficial. That’s if you never have to change the batteries
Most people only keep vehicles between 3-5 years before buying new. I'm sure the will have bought a new car long before batteries need replaced.
 

theblet

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Yea or maybe if you less. I keep vehicles for at least 15 years if they don’t have major issues.
 

Mountain Whiskey

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Hmm. I still have my '02 Jeep. I traded my '12 Frontier for my Ram. I have an '04 Lincoln and a '03 Harley. I must keep vehicles too long. 😕
 

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