American EV startup Rivian has started shipping the manual tonneau cover for the all-electric R1T pickup truck, according to a Reddit post from a user who bought the accessory from the company.
Initially spotted by Drive Tesla Canada, the post says that the whole package weighs 42 pounds (19 kilograms) and that it comes in a high-quality zipper case that fits in the pickup’s gear tunnel.
It’s pretty easy to assemble, too, with arrows on each of the four pieces indicating which section has to go in first. There’s also a rubber gasket on the final panel to stop water from entering the bed.
The manual tonneau cover was offered to R1T customers back in October 2022 as the only option for protecting whatever needed protecting in the bed of the electric truck, after Rivian announced that the powered tonneau would be removed from the options list because it needed a redesign.
Fast-forward to May 2023, and the American EV maker showcased both the manual cover and the updated power tonneau. Back then, the firm released an explainer video featuring CEO RJ Scaringe and the chief of staff for manufacturing operations, Clare Frigo.
Disassembling the manual tonneau is pretty straightforward, with a strap that has to be pulled under the first panel and then each piece can be removed one at a time and stored in the aforementioned storage bag that also has separators for each piece for protection.
Deliveries of both variants are scheduled to begin this summer, but until now just the manual version seems to be ready for prime time. According to Rivian’s online configurator for the R1T, the manual tonneau cover costs $1,800, while the pricing for the updated powered option hasn’t been revealed yet.
In related news, the maker of the all-electric adventure truck and the R1S SUV has announced that its customers will have access to the Tesla Supercharger network of DC fast chargers from 2024 with the help of an adaptor, and from 2025 Rivian will fit the NACS connector on its passenger vehicles, including the upcoming R2-based EVs.
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