A few months before its first deliveries, Rivian has taken the electric vehicle battery warranty over Tesla among pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.
The warranty for the Rivian R1T electric pickup and R1S electric SUV is eight years or 175,000 miles (whichever comes first). That covers all components of the battery pack and a minimum of 70 percent of battery capacity.
Tesla’s longest warranty is also eight years or 150,000 miles, and also covers up to 70 percent of the original battery capacity.
But that warranty is only available on the Model S and Model X, with other models getting less mileage. The Model 3 Standard Range warranty only covers 100,000 miles; the warranty for all other Model 3 variants and the Model Y covers 120,000 miles.
Rivian, Tesla in battery warranty battle
Rivian is also offering a 5-year/60,000-mile new vehicle warranty and an 8-year/175,000-mile drivetrain warranty on both of its vehicles.
Tesla previously offered an eight-year drivetrain warranty for the Model S, with unlimited mileage. A 4-year/50,000-mile limited warranty covers most other components beyond the battery pack, with a 1-year/10,000-mile extension for used cars purchased directly from the company.
Rivian hasn’t delivered any vehicles to customers yet, so we don’t know what it will recommend regarding regular maintenance. Tesla initially recommended an annual service but scrapped that policy in 2019.
Among other prominent EVs, the Nissan Leaf has an 8-year/100,000-mile battery warranty, 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty, and three years or 36,000 miles of “basic coverage” for other components.
The Volkswagen ID.4 gets the same battery-pack warranty terms as the Leaf, with a 4-year/50,000-mile new vehicle warranty.
The Rivian R1T has a starting price of $67,500 and the R1S at $70,000. But it will start with a 135-kilowatt-hour battery pack offering an estimated 300-mile range.
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Article Last Updated: April 13, 2021.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.