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Mar 06, 2024

How One Man's Journey In A Rivian Reveals What's Wrong With The Charging Network

One Rivian R1T, one content creator and an endless journey; through an EV charging network that seems to do everything it can to prevent him access. As Shmee150 (Tim to those around him) on YouTube

One Rivian R1T, one content creator and an endless journey; through an EV charging network that seems to do everything it can to prevent him access.

As Shmee150 (Tim to those around him) on YouTube says – California is leading the charge… in charging. He is referencing the state’s ambitions as forerunners in the new race to provide electric charging infrastructure for a growing market of electric cars and become an example of the system that working well.

Unfortunately, he ends up revealing all that is wrong with the system, even in California. It does give him a chance to show off the Rivian R1T – an impressive electric pickup truck that despite getting let down by lousy charging infrastructure, is an exemplary EV.

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Tim has boots on the ground in California, where he arrives successfully with a Rivian press truck from Monterey Car Week. He says that he covered about 1,000 miles in the truck so far, and it is a great first effort at a vehicle from startup Rivian.

Essentially a pickup twin to the R1S SUV, it comes in various powertrain flavors, culminating in the quad-motor, 835-hp version he is currently driving around.

There is an abundance of useful features in the Rivian R1T that include extra storage in the sides under the rear bed, and a tech-packed interior. The styling features are also highly original, which include the cute front end and its unmistakable lights.

He will need to charge up the electric car soon, and he wants to show how much of a pain it can be just to complete this necessary task, even in California.

Our host points out that the GPS system in the Rivian will integrate charging stops en route to a destination, yet the system cannot say if the charging stops are open, working, or free. Often, he says, the charging stations are badly placed or hard to find.

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The next segment involves him driving around trying to ‘fill up’. There are a various broken chargers where vandalism seems to have occurred. There are a few charging stations where the system refuses to recognize the Rivian.

In what becomes a comically hopeless situation, it starts to seem like the YouTuber will never find a charging point that is free, working or not vandalized. When it does become possible, he reveals another shocking truth: the cost of a full charge could typically be $60.

Moving on to the Tesla problem, Shmee says that the Supercharger network, which usually gets seen as superior, also suffers from surprise issues and sudden closures at charging points.

However, the Supercharger network has a central communication system which can relay status to cars and re-route vehicles to stations that are able to charge the electric car. Tim mentions that the rest of the charging network gets fragmented, resulting in a gamble every time an EV needs a charge. One of Shmee’s most salient points is that the charging network is not ready for the electric future that the automakers and governments are hailing as the next step. It doesn’t seem to diminish the excellence of the Rivian R1T, but it could take away some of the excitement of owning one.

Hailing from Britain, the home of both MG and Aston Martin, Dave is no stranger to sports cars. Or a little rain. When he's not busy working his day-job or writing songs and pretending to be a musician; Dave indulges his obsession with cars by writing and researching diligently, so that he can inform and convert other people to the dark side.