Electric trucks seem to be the future, and many automakers are racing to make their own electric trucks. Unlike many other automakers, however, Rivian is a relatively brand-new automaker that will be making an electric truck as one of its very first cars. Here’s a look at the Rivian R1T and how, despite being an EV, it can do all the things that a regular truck can do.

A brief history of Rivian

Since Rivian is a start-up based around making EVs, it’s impossible not to compare it to Tesla. However, while they share quite a few similarities, they definitely have their differences, too. Rivian was founded in 2009, and at the beginning, it was going down a similar path as Tesla. At the time, Rivian’s engineers were working on a sports car, just like how Tesla built a roadster as its first car. 

However, Rivian stopped developing its sports car models to focus on larger cars, such as trucks, SUVs, and vans. After years of developing its vehicles, Rivian has finally started producing them. Amazon is buying many Rivian vans, but Rivian’s trucks and SUVs are also getting pretty close to production. As such, currently, very few people have driven a Rivian R1T pickup truck, but, regardless, it seems pretty impressive.

The R1T can in fact wade through water

Conventional wisdom says water and electronics don’t mix well, but that doesn’t mean an EV can’t handle some water. Indeed, as The Drive reported, the R1T was built with off-roading in mind. As such, Rivian’s engineers took the time to make sure that it could, in fact, handle crossing some water. However, it obviously won’t be able to swim across the ocean.

Still, as the demonstration video that Rivian’s CEO posted shows, the R1T can, in fact, wade through 3 feet of water. This is because the batteries and electronics in the R1T are protected from the elements, according to The Drive. If Rivian’s claims are truly accurate, then that also means that the R1T will be able to wade through more water than the Ford F-150 can. For comparison, the F-150 can wade through just under 3 feet of water.

An overview of the Rivian R1T

Not only will the R1T be able to handle more water than a regular truck can, but it can do quite a few other things, too. For example, the R1T has just over 14 inches of ground clearance in terms of off-roading capability. Plus, due to the R1T’s hydraulic suspension system, it should also provide a more comfortable ride off-road than other cars will.

On top of that, the R1T is unique compared to other EVs. This is because it actually has four electric motors, which is one motor more than its electric truck competitors. Each motor is placed next to each wheel, allowing the R1T to do some intense torque vectoring. Additionally, with four electric motors, the R1T obviously gets quite a bit of power. Combined, the motors should deliver over 800 horsepower and 900 lb-ft of torque.

This amount of power will allow the R1T to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 3 seconds. As far as towing capabilities go, the R1T is also pretty good there. It should be able to tow up to 11,000 pounds and carry 1,700 pounds of payload, which is on par with full-size pickups trucks. In terms of range, the R1T is estimated to debut with between 230 miles to 400 miles, depending on the battery option. That being said, the R1T will start at about $68,000, so it won’t be cheap.