Rivian Faces Growing Online Backlash After Increasing Car Prices, Thousands Claim To Cancel Orders

Rivian Automotive Inc RIVN is facing an onslaught of peeved customers online, with many claiming to cancel reservations on online forums after the electric vehicle maker announced price hikes.

What Happened:  On Reddit, more than 4,400 users responded to a poll under r/Rivian that asked how their plans had changed after the company said it would bump up prices of its  R1T electric pickup and the R1S electric sports utility vehicle. 

About 2,300 had voted in favor of canceling their reservations, while 1,600 were undecided, at press time.

"I have the reservation for R1S Launch Edition since April of 2019. They should at least have some regard for Customers who have been waiting for the delivery for 3 Years," said one Reddit user. 

Electrek first reported the development. Rivian did not respond to Benzinga’s request for comment on the poll as of press time.

Irvine, California-based Rivian, which revealed 71,000 preorders for its two models, said it hiked prices to cope with inflationary pressure and increasing component costs, among other reasons.

“This rise in cost and complexity due to these challenging circumstances necessitate an increase to the prices of the R1T and R1S models we offer today — prices originally set in 2018,” Jiten Behl, Rivian chief growth officer, told Benzinga on Wednesday.

See Also: Rivian Missed 2021 Production Targets And Is Now Reportedly Bumping Up Prices

Why It Matters: Rivian shares have been under pressure since the beginning of the year after it failed to meet 2021 production targets and delayed deliveries. The stock had made a blockbuster trading debut in November.

Rivian, which counts Amazon.com Inc AMZN and Ford Motor Co F among its key investors, said in January it was delaying deliveries of its 400-mile R1T pickup truck to 2023.

Price Action: Rivian shares closed 13.5% lower at $53.6 on Wednesday. The stock is down 48% year-to-date.

Photo by Rivian on Wikimedia