Rivian Will Give You a Discount to Trade In a Gas Vehicle for a New R1 Model

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Rivian sells two compelling EVs that have garnered a good deal of happy customers, but they’re far from affordable. At around $70,000 to start, the brand’s R1T pickup and R1S SUV are out of reach for most buyers, even after the $3,750 federal tax credits for some models. The automaker is taking steps – small ones, to be fair – to make its vehicles more affordable, though, knocking up to $5,000 off some configurations. Oh, and you’ll have to trade in a gas vehicle to get the price cut.


Buyers who take delivery of a new Rivian before June 30 can get up to $3,000 off the R1T Standard + Pack, $4,000 off the R1T Large Pack, $5,000 off the R1T Max Pack, and $1,000 off the R1S Large Pack. Those sound like generous discounts, at least until you consider that the R1T Max Pack’s price tag easily crests the $100,000 mark.


Of course, discounts don’t usually come without terms attached, and Rivian is no exception. Any configurations not listed in that list are not eligible for discounts, and the vehicles must be bought or leased through the automaker’s online shop. You’ll still have to plop down a $1,000 non-refundable deposit to buy one, and the discounts are applied at the point of sale on the site.


Finally, only a handful of gas vehicles are eligible for the trade-in offer. The list includes:

·     Audi Q5, Q7, and Q8 from 2018 or after

·     BMW X3, X5, and X7 from 2018 or after

·     Ford F-150, Explorer, Expedition, and Bronco from 2018 or after

·     Jeep Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, and Gladiator from 2018 or after

·     Toyota Tacoma, Tundra, Highlander, and 4Runner from 2018 or after


Note that those vehicles are in direct competition with models Rivian sells, so the automaker clearly wants to draw traffic away from its ICE rivals. That said, it’s unclear how much the automaker will give you for your trade-in, so it would be wise to shop around a bit before signing for a new Rivian.


[Image: Rivian]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Dave M. My hipster daughter is greatly into it. We watched the race together this weekend. It was interesting but I'm not devoted to it like she is. She'll be at the Austin race in October.
  • Bd2 If I had time to watch other people driving, then I would go for LMP.
  • Steve Biro There are 24 races on this year’s F1 schedule. And I guarantee you no more than two will be reasonably exciting, Meanwhile, F1’s reception for Andretti reveals the dark underbelly of the sport. I have followed F1 since the 1960s and, frankly, I am running out of interest. I’ll catch a race if it’s convenient but won’t bother DVRing them.
  • YellowDuck Been watching since the 80s, seriously since the 90s once we had reliable TV coverage. I'm in Canada though. Hey, and don't forget that the Interlagos race is also in a convenient time zone, as is Mexico. So that's 5 races in the Americas. Absolutely love it, but it takes a bit more interest in the technical / strategic side of things to really appreciate it. It's not just going fast in circles until someone crashes into someone else, while drunk people watch. The US can be proud of what it has contributed - Austin is one of the best tracks on the calendar, Vegas turned out to be much better than anyone could have hoped, and even Miami - a real Indy car-style track - produced a good race this year.
  • JMII I watch every F1 race, same with Indycar which is 100X better in terms of actual racing.
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