EV technology is improving at a rapid pace, but charging often still takes a little time. To ease the tedium, Rivian has been working on a little concept to keep its customers occupied while they stock up on electricity.
Head down to Groveland, California, and you’ll find Rivian’s first Charging Outpost. Built 24 miles from Yosemite National Park, it’s a step beyond a simple charging station. It’s intended to be a comfortable space for drivers to relax and recharge their own batteries, too.
The Charging Outpost features a comfortable lounge, decked out with sustainable furniture. Guests can sample educational games or a book from the onsite library while they kick back and enjoy a complimentary coffee. A refill station for water bottles will also be available, sticking to Rivian’s sustainable ethos. Oh, and there are five DC fast chargers on site, and restrooms to boot.
Naturally, there’s some Rivian merch available for purchase if you find yourself wanting to represent the brand while you’re out and about. A more creative feature is the “make your own” trail mix bar. You can whip yourself up a custom blend before you head out on your hike.
While the experience is very Rivian-themed, you don’t have to be a Rivian customer to drop by. “We want to support local communities or anyone traveling to these destinations, as well as making the charging experience even better than it is today,” said Liz Guerrero, Senior Director of Environments at Rivian.
The space is decorated with an aesthetic lean towards organic modernism. Exposed roof beams and simple wood furniture create a cabin-like vibe. A wall mural presents a call to the wild, showing climbing routes on the face of El Capitan.
Sustainability is a big focus for the site. Solar panels are used to generate enough power to run the building, though not the charging itself. It’s also been designed to use passive cooling techniques to minimize its energy use. Retaining walls were built with recaptured materials that formerly made up the sidewalk and parking lot.
The site has some historical significance, too. The Charging Outpost is built on the site of an old blacksmith’s shop dating back to 1870, not long after California’s gold rush kicked off. Later years saw it transform into an auto repair shop, and later a gas station.
Expect to see more Charging Outposts in future. Much like the first example, Rivian is aiming to roll out more installations in the vicinity of national parks and other “high-traffic areas” around the US. “Every Charging Outpost we create will be near incredibly beautiful and inspiring destinations,” said Denise Cherry, VP of Experience Design at Rivian. “We want to make it a place where you will be refreshed and inspired during and after your stop.” 
To a certain degree, Rivian’s concept is not that wild. A charging stop with coffee and refreshments isn’t that different to a regular charger installed at a gas station. The difference, however, is that the emphasis isn’t all about selling candy and soft drinks to passing travelers. It’s more about creating a comfortable spot to rest for a spell while your car tops up on juice.
A welcoming charge station with comfy chairs and a less commercial bent is surely a good thing for EV drivers out on the road. If you happen to find yourself in Yosemite seeking a charge, consider checking out Rivian’s new pad. If you do, let us know what you think!
Image credits: Rivian
This looks like a good idea,and I spotted a crap. Wonder what that’s about.
This simply highlights the problem of charging time. An EV takes almost an hour to fully charge where a,car takes 5 minutes. I don’t need ambiance, educational games and a trail mix bar in a gas station because I’m not spending significant time. Sure the technology will ultimately improve but right now filling up your EV is not a frictionless process.
I’ve driven several different EVs on road trips from 600 miles to 3000 miles round trip. I’ve never once had to fast charge for an hour, with only a handful of times being much over 30 minutes.
I did once have to wait after charging for the ICE car traveling with me to finish fueling. The Costco station was about 70 cents a gallon cheaper than other nearby stations, and the total time in line and fueling there took longer than it did for me to charge. While that was the exception, the idea that every gas station stop is frictionless is as silly as saying every EV charge will take an hour.
More like 20-30 minutes than almost an hour, and honestly a gas stop is closer to 10-15 minutes on a roadtrip after bathroom, drinks/snacks, and stretching. It’s extra time, but the delta’s gotten pretty small for the better BEVs like the EV6.
To charge fully yes, but there’s rarely any point in charging fully. In my road trips, I usually travel about 3 hours then charge for 15-20 minutes. That’s about the time it takes to pee, get a drink, and eat a small snack.
Meh, I’m about done with Silicon Valley Modernist vibes. The harsh lighting, the white everywhere makes everything feel chintzy. If I drop house money on your car I should feel important, not like I’m shopping at the (now extinct, because of the same MBAs buying out the land) flea market.
I’m less cynical about this than some other commenters. I’m actually pleased they’re acknowledging there’s a need for this kind of thing so long as charge times are much slower than gas fill ups. Not only that, but they’re actually creating an inviting space for kids which is hugely important for the family EV road trip experience.
I don’t think this particular endeavor is about making money so much as trialing a concept for a new kind of “gas station”.
On one hand, you’re absolutely right. Rivian’s not the only company trying this, and I’ve often theorized that the endgame for EV stations is a modernized midcentury Route-66 diner.
On the other hand… come on, it has an actual granola dispenser. It’s like a Simpson’s bit escaped containment.
I’ve watched YouTube videos theorizing that the electric car could be the resurrection of Route 66 or a modern equivalent with people having to stop more frequently and longer.
It will be as popular as the “Slow Internet Movement”
Yeah the execution in this case I can’t defend. It is indeed, as Nsane said elsewhere, the whitest thing I’ve ever seen. Not to mention I think they could achieve the kid friendliness without the sanctimonious sustainability stuff
They’re just buttering you up for the mandatory timeshare seminars.
This is fitting, seeing as the vast majority of Rivians mainly inhabit Whole Foods parking lots anyway. Also a Rivian charging “outpost” serving trail mix and loaded with sustainable chic might be the whitest thing I’ve ever seen…although I agree with Anoos, there isn’t much sustainable about 7,000 pound behemoths being sold to members of the 1% who are looking to virtue signal.
I’m sure the carbon footprint to make these damn things combined with the carbon footprint of the average wealthy owner is probably exponentially bigger than the average Corolla and their driver. But hey, it’s not really about being environmental…it’s about looking environmental while your neighbor Dr. Douche/Douchebag, ESQ in your gated community continues to drive his Cayenne Turbo. Checkmate!
While I agree with your sentiment, I want to be the devils advocate. I mean, can you fault Rivian for making something for their primary demographic? It’s exactly the same as any other car maker who does things like this. If you want to survive, you have to serve your customer. Making a boring charging station with 3 chargers and a vending machine does not get the instagram posts the same way.
Oh I agree. It’s great marketing and they know their granola fueled audience well.
ya sound like a meat and taters big dude with a 40 of Busch Lite rollin’ coal on EV’s in a lifted Ram…Merica!
They always say “yee haw”, but they never ask “how yee?” 🙁
This is somewhat similar to what Tesla has been teasing for years (feels like a decade now?), except Rivian just went ahead and did it.
Also, at one time, Frank Lloyd Wright was convinced gas stations would/should evolve on similar lines, the Lindholm service station in Minnesota was built with a 2nd floor observation lounge where customers could relax while their cars were being gassed up and serviced, didn’t catch on for obvious reasons
I’ve been there! There are skylights perfectly positioned above the garage bays so natural light shines down into the engine bay of the cars being worked on… which seems like a brilliant design solution that I haven’t seen implemented any where else
It’s a seriously beautiful building, certainly seems like a more comfortable/pleasant work environment than the usual 1950s gas station. Some Wright designs were more habitable sculpture than practical buildings (Price Tower), but the gas station is clearly pretty functional, given that it is still in use for its original purpose after 65+ years, had to have been making money, otherwise it would have just been converted to a restaurant, gift shop, or museum by now.
Of course, it did cost 4x as much to build vs a typical gas station of the time, the ornate copper roof is probably a good part of that. And the European style overhead gas pumps Wright wanted didn’t meet local code, so it has normal ground ones, which he thought wasted space
Staffed charging stations like this will go a long way to making EV charging more pleasurable as well as reducing vandalism and increasing up-time.
This one’s going to operate at a loss. I’m sure for a viable business they’d need to squeeze a lot more money out of the people lounging in the waiting area.
Honestly, Starbucks should just open a chain of fast charge stations. They seem to do alright with a coffee shop full of people setting up shop and nursing an Americano for hours.
The charging customers would probably turn the tables over quicker.
Yeah so I’m not the only one who thinks this is just weird. This place appears to be an highly refined money burning machine.
I think they’re getting exactly what they wanted out of it.
We’re reading about it and talking about it and it probably cost them less than exhibiting at an auto show.
Maybe? I was expecting this thing to be sitting on millions of dollars worth of real estate, but it looks like it’s only worth a few hundred grand. It still looks like the income potential will top out at literally dozens of dollars per day, and it requires a staff.
Yeah, this is a marketing expense. Not a new income stream.
Also, exhibiting at a car show is insanely expensive. The ridiculous costs for booth space and show floor services are nothing compared to the travel and entertainment expenses.
I don’t even understand how trade shows are still a thing.
And if it were still 2021, that would make sense to me. I thought Rivian was in a cash crunch. You’re probably right, I’m just surprised by where the priorities are.
Maybe it’s that sweet VW money.
It’d be funny if VW’s emissions fails led to them developing a bad charging network and their EV software fails led to developing a good Rivian charging network.
During my corporate life, I learned that companies will squeeze every last dime out of labor and product while financing extremely expensive marketing boondoggles.
The key is to get on the gravy train, either as a marketeer or a preferred customer.
I was in sales for a long time. I basically ate and drank at nice restaurants professionally. There were many months where my expenses were more than the monthly rent for our offices.
As an engineer, my favorite work trips are the rare instances where I get to travel with a sales team. They do not seem to have spending limits and some of the nicest meals I’ve ever eaten were on their dime.
They are. Partnered with Volvo, because somebody knows how to use Venn diagrams.
It’s a solid move. I’d rather sit in a Starbucks than a Walmart parking lot.
My “business idea” is to replace an existing gas station with DC Fast Charging and instead of the regular gas station store where its just rows of food and other goods, do it more as an airport lounge from an airline with coffee, pre-made food and nice sitting areas/bathrooms, the usual snacks for the drive and free Wi-Fi. Instead of screens with flights information, it should show the charging stations status (Charging speed, percentage, time left to 80%). The screen should change color when it reach 80% and a gentle notification from an automated voice to notify the driver.
I’m thinking that with a bit of reworking, 7-11s could be well positioned for this too.
Garbled messages from the automated voice would add a realistic touch.
All the “premium” convenience gas stations would probably do well going this route. Quiktrip, Wawa, Sheetz, maybe Buc’ees, etc.
I’m not ready for a lecture on responsible material use from a manufacturer of 7000 pound single occupant commuter vehicles.
I know right. They should make lightweight single occupant commuter vehicles like Electrameccanica, Elio and all the other successful lightweight single occupant commuter vehicle manufacturers.
Geezus No. Nobody should ever build those things.
I have no problem with the type of vehicles they build or how they are used. It just puts them in a bad position to take a holier than thou stand on material consumption.
I also don’t take data security advice from CDK or accounting advice from Enron.
Suzuki, Trek, Honda, ….
But their seats are recyclable vegan leather.
I wish vegans would stop eating seats.
I think you misunderstood. The seats are vegan hide.
I thought my R1T smelled of Tofurkey.
So, vinyl. Why can’t we just say vinyl? Genuinely do not understand why everyone is so against petrochemicals these days, is it so they can charge more for an inexpensive fabric?
A 2023 Prius getting 48.5 mpg over 200k miles burns 4,120 gal or 24,700 lbs of gasoline, which requires refining 217 barrels of crude oil or 65,000 lbs. Only 42% of each barrel is used for gasoline, so our Prius requires about 27,000 lbs of crude oil. Including the weight of the vehicle itself, that’s over 30,000 lbs of raw material.
For a Prius.
I’m not saying Rivian should lecture anyone for anything (smaller cars are better, and the smallest car is a bicycle), but I am saying that the bar for responsible material use is insanely low.
I will keep that in mind if Toyota builds an eco-preachy gas station.
Let’s be real here; we all want to know how nice the bathrooms are. Are these Buc’ee levels, or are these giant-gaps-in-the-stalls levels? I’ve got time to kill, and Reddit to read…
Or are there certain holes in the stall walls for glory?
This Rivian is bound for glory, this Rivian.
This Rivian is bound for glory,
Don’t carry nothing but the righteous and the holy.
This Rivian is bound for glory, this Rivian.
All apologies to Woody Guthrie
Or the Royal Farms “slosh through 3 inches of liquid that you hope is just water but you know isn’t, then find that the soap is empty and the hand dryer doesn’t work” level
Sir, why are you bringing a hole saw into our restroom?
Hell, as long as they have stall doors, that’s good enough for me!
Having to use a doorless stall during an emergency for 5+ long minutes with a crowd of people waiting for your toilet to become available really puts things into perspective.