On September 14, Rivian started production of its R1T electric pickup truck and began deliveries to early reservation holders shortly after.

We’ve seen an increasing number of social media posts from customers taking delivery of their R1Ts recently, but how many vehicles has Rivian delivered so far?

Well, the answer comes from the company itself in a new document filed with the SEC on October 22. Amendment No. 1 to the S-1 reveals that Rivian hasn’t exactly begun full-scale production of its all-electric pickup.

From page 1 of the document, in the “Prospectus Summary” chapter, we learn that Rivian has built a total of just 56 R1Ts as of October 22—i.e., in the first five weeks of production.

“In the consumer market, we launched the R1 platform with our first-generation consumer vehicle, the R1T, a two-row five-passenger pickup truck, and began making customer deliveries in September 2021. As of September 30, 2021, we produced 12 R1Ts and delivered 11 R1Ts, and as of October 22, 2021, we produced 56 R1Ts and delivered 42 R1Ts.”

First Production Rivian R1T Rolls Off Assembly Line

This clearly shows that Rivian is taking its time with production, with the EV startup making an average of less than two vehicles per day. Additionally, as pointed out on Rivian Forums, the fact that it has delivered only 42 vehicles so far makes it unsurprising that most of them are going to company employees. 

While no one expects a startup to built thousands of vehicles during the first month of production, two units a day is disappointing. The question is how quickly will Rivian manage to accelerate manufacturing given that the company had approximately 48,000 R1T and R1S preorders to honor as of September 30, 2021.

At the current rate of two vehicles a day, Rivian may run out of money long before it can deliver all 48,000 orders. Could the reason for the R1T’s slow production ramp be that Rivian is prioritizing the production of electric delivery vans for Amazon? 

That is unlikely because Rivian does not cite any production numbers for the electric van in this latest SEC filing. According to previous statements, the company will begin volume production of the 500 Van and 700 Van in December, when it also plans to start making the R1S SUV.

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