Rivian has just a little cinematic shock tucked in its new “treehouse” rooftop tent, one of many many equipment the automaker plans to promote alongside its next-generation R2 SUV and future R3 EVs.
The rooftop tent, which Rivian calls the treehouse, is supplied with a film projector, which is run utilizing energy from the Rivian, Brian Gase, Rivian’s senior director of prototype and particular initiatives, advised TechCrunch throughout a buyer occasion in Laguna Seaside, California. The client occasion was held Thursday night, a number of hours after Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe unveiled the all-electric R2 SUV and the sporty R3 and R3x hatchback vehicles.
The treehouse, as Rivian has branded it, is totally different from the white-labeled Yakima tent designed for its flagship R1T truck.
Picture Credit: Rivian
This new treehouse product is contained in a hardshell, which then opens up into a big rooftop tent. Reverse the opening is a big window, the place the roll down display screen is positioned, Gase mentioned. The projector may be linked to an influence supply from the car, he added. The treehouse additionally comes with an inside fan and lighting.
Gase mentioned the treehouse design will largely stay the identical as soon as it goes on sale. Proper now, he mentioned, the main focus is about conserving the standard excessive with out making it too costly.
“It’s about the cost because you can look at it and say ‘that’s awesome,’ but then you’re putting an expensive tent on a product that you’re trying to get to an introductory level price,” Gase mentioned, referring to the R2, which is predicted to have a beginning value of $45,000.
Picture Credit: Kirsten Korosec
The treehouse-that-turns-into-a-movie-theater is only one of a number of adventure-minded equipment revealed Thursday alongside Rivian’s next-generation of smaller extra inexpensive EVs. Rivian plans to promote a cargo field that mounts to a hitch on the again of the car and that may be paired with a brand new journey kitchen. The kitchen features a water tank, cooler and cookware set.
On Thursday, Rivian revealed the R2, a five-seat, all-electric midsized SUV that may have greater than 300 miles of vary and a base value of $45,000. In a shock twist, Scaringe additionally unveiled the smaller R3 and the R3x efficiency, a compact hatchback-style EV with sporty vibes. Rivian hasn’t given a manufacturing timeline for the R3 autos.
The R2, which is able to now be made on the firm’s Regular, Illinois manufacturing unit, is predicted to enter manufacturing within the first half of 2024. The corporate mentioned it should save about $2.25 billion by transferring manufacturing of the R2 from its deliberate Georgia manufacturing unit to its current manufacturing unit in Regular.
