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This Guy Sold His Rivian R1S For A Tesla Model Y: Find Out Why

Not long ago, this EV owner was ripping on Tesla and bought a Rivian. After one month, the tables have turned, and for good reasons.

tesla model y multicolor wrap

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Steven Loveday Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Mar 12, 2023 at 12:06pm ET

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EV owner and YouTube influencer Ryan Pineda just recently took delivery of a Rivian R1S electric SUV. He admits to having also recently talked "a whole bunch of crap about Tesla" in his last video about the Rivian. However, now the tables have turned, he sold the Rivian and picked up a brand-new Tesla Model Y.

If you're not familiar with Ryan, he's a former pro basketball player who's now a successful entrepreneur. Most of his success comes from real estate investing. He flips and rents homes, and he even wrote a best-selling book about it. Ryan's YouTube channel shares his successes with the world so that others may take his insight and tip and tricks to, hopefully, manage and invest their money more successfully.

White Rivian R1S charging on Rivian Waypoint charger

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Rivian R1S in Compass Yellow side view Rivian R1S in Compass Yellow downhill Rivian R1S on Canyon Red side view Rivian R1S off road Rivian R1S First Drive Rivian R1S in Canyon Red

With that said, you can probably come to the conclusion that the reason Mr. Pineda sold his Rivian R1S and bought a Tesla Model Y was that it made sound financial sense. To be clear, Ryan essentially flipped the R1S, since it was considerably overvalued, and then bought a Model Y at a discount and pocketed the difference.

Ryan paid $78,000 for the R1S and got the full $7,500 US federal EV tax credit. Meanwhile, the SUVs were selling on the used market for well over $100,000. Knowing that he could make quick money on it, he admitted that it really didn't make sense to keep it unless he was blown away by it. Ryan had no major issues with the electric SUV, but it didn't handle as well as other SUVs due to its large size, and he just couldn't justify keeping it.

2021 Tesla Model Y

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2021 Tesla Model Y 2021 Tesla Model Y 2021 Tesla Model Y 2021 Tesla Model Y 2021 Tesla Model Y 2021 Tesla Model Y

Around the same time, Tesla discounted the Model Y significantly. Ryan picked up a fully loaded version for $58,000. What's more, he was able to get free Full Self-Driving Beta Capability by buying the Model Y under his cousin's account, who's a Tesla employee. Despite Ryan's issues with Tesla, he's happier driving the smaller and sportier Model Y than the bulky and off-road-ready R1S, so it's a win-win.

Check Out More Tesla Model Y Coverage:

Toyota Engineers After Tesla Model Y Teardown: "A Work Of Art"

Tesla Model Y "Juniper" Refresh May Follow Suit With Model S And X

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The video focuses heavily on the unique wrap Ryan had applied to the Model Y. He also had the R1S wrapped, though it was done with a more conservative matte wrap. If you're into wrapping cars, you'll want to check out the whole video. While Ryan shows off the work, he reveals other details about why he sold the Rivian and bought the Tesla.

As always, we encourage you to let us know what you think about the video and the topic. Do you think Ryan made the right decision? Knowing what you know about why he sold the R1T and bought the Model Y, would you have done the same? We look forward to reading your opinions.

Source: Ryan Pineda (YouTube)

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