The redesigned version of the powered tonneau cover for the all-electric Rivian R1T pickup truck will be available in the company’s online Gear Shop in early 2024, according to the California-based startup’s website, as spotted by Rivian Forums user Stevetom84.
It’s worth noting that as it stands today, prospective customers can’t specify the new powered cover when configuring a custom R1T, as the online visualizer only shows the $1,800 manual tonneau cover as an available option.
Instead, the website shows that the new powered cover will make its way into the accessories shop in early 2024, presumably as a post-purchase add-on, in the pre-configured vehicles section, where all the R1Ts in Rivian’s inventory show up as being compatible with both the manual tonneau and the updated powered cover.
Rivian R1T manual and powered tonneau cover availability in the company’s online Gear Shop
The all-electric pickup’s original powered bed cover was an interesting bit of kit, allowing owners to hide valuables from sight at the push of a button, but it was plagued by reliability issues. Initially, Rivian tried fixing and replacing defective units, but in October of 2022, it stopped making it altogether and announced that it was working on a new, better version of it. At the same time, it offered reservation holders a choice between a new manual tonneau cover or no cover at all.
The manual cover started shipping in June of this year and the updated powered cover was supposed to become available this summer, but that still hasn’t happened yet, and by the looks of it, customers will have to wait until next year to get their hands on it.
On the flip side, it also looks like the updated powered tonneau cover will be available as a post-sale accessory, so customers who already have an R1T will be able to benefit from it.
We got in touch with Rivian to find out more details about the availability of the new powered tonneau cover and we’ll update this article when we know more. In the meantime, we’d like to know what you think about this latest development, so head over to the comments section below to give us your thoughts.
