Rivian deletes Camp Kitchen and Tunnel Shuttle from Gear Shop
Rivian has deleted the Camp Kitchen, Tunnel Shuttle, and R1T Tent from its online gear shop. All three were previously listed as “not available yet” until earlier today when their entries disappeared.
One of the Rivian R1T’s unique features is its “gear tunnel,” a compartment that fits between the bed and the rear seats of the truck and opens to the outside of the truck. This offers a large, long space for equipment that drivers might not want to keep inside the truck but want to keep in a more secure place than the bed. It’s good for dirty equipment that’s too long to fit in the “frunk,” so perhaps skis, tent poles, or the like.
But Rivian also decided to offer accessories to fit into the space, and one of the most-anticipated accessories was the camp kitchen. The camp kitchen was a custom-engineered solution that allowed the space to be used for a pull-out kitchen, complete with a water tank, space for utensils and other equipment, and two induction cooktops connected to the car’s battery for a fully-contained portable kitchen.
It may have been slated to cost $5,000, but it was cool nonetheless.
The tunnel shuttle was another option to make the gear tunnel more usable. It’s a slide-out deck that makes it easier to load and unload the gear tunnel. It was a little more reasonably priced at $1,500.
However, in October, Rivian stated that it was putting a “temporary pause” on the production of the camp kitchen and tunnel shuttle while it was working to update the design of both accessories.
That temporary pause seems to have become a little less temporary today, as the items are now no longer listed on the store at all. Until a few hours ago, the page looked like this:
But now, the link to the camp kitchen page simply redirects to the overall gear shop page. The same goes for the tunnel shuttle as well.
We reached out to Rivian for comment on the matter, and a Rivian spokesperson gave us this statement:
As we continue the work of delivering vehicles to our customers as quickly as possible, we’ve made the decision to halt production of the current versions of the built-in Camp Kitchen and Gear Tunnel Shuttle. We’re exploring updated designs and will offer adventure-ready cooking solutions for our vehicles in the future.
So it looks like these items may eventually return, but that may take some time. If so, it sounds like Rivian is saying that the design will change – but we’re not sure how yet.
In addition to these changes, the R1S Tent is still listed on the shop as “coming soon,” but the R1T Tent is missing – though this is less new, as its entry disappeared from the site in January. In October, Rivian stated that the R1T Tent would require an additional brake light accessory to ensure that the truck’s brake lights would still be visible when the tent is attached to the bed. With the R1S, the tent does not obscure the brake lights and thus does not have this problem.
Electrek’s Take
This is disappointing but a little understandable. Rivian is currently working on scaling up production, and it’s going a little slower than the company would like. Given its need to scale up production, reduce complexity, and increase margins, it makes some sense that it would kick a few side projects down the road.
The company just barely missed its 25,000-unit production goal for last year and announced a goal of 50,000 vehicles for this year, which was below Wall Street expectations of 60,000. But there are signs that Rivian has a higher internal target, and the company is moving engineers to its main plant to help work on getting production up to speed.
We received some signs today that the changes might be going well, with new data showing that Q1 is going better than expected. So in light of these challenges, perhaps the camp kitchen was a necessary casualty.
It’s always possible that some other company might come in and offer a similar solution – perhaps one with less whiz-bang fancy engineering. We’ve seen several third-party accessories show up for other EV brands, so hopefully, an enterprising Rivian owner can step in and fill the gap. Or perhaps owners will come up with their own DIY solutions in the meantime.
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Wind energy powered 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe (19% in the EU) in 2024, and the EU has set a goal to grow this share to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.
To stay on track, the EU needs to install 30 GW of new wind farms annually, but it only managed 13 GW in 2024 – 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. This is what’s holding the EU back from achieving its wind growth goals.
Three big problems holding Europe’s wind power back
Europe’s wind power growth is stalling for three key reasons:
Permitting delays. Many governments haven’t implemented the EU’s new permitting rules, making it harder for projects to move forward.
Grid connection bottlenecks. Over 500 GW(!) of potential wind capacity is stuck in grid connection queues.
Slow electrification. Europe’s economy isn’t electrifying fast enough to drive demand for more renewable energy.
Brussels-based trade association WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson summed it up: “The EU must urgently tackle all three problems. More wind means cheaper power, which means increased competitiveness.”
Permitting: Germany sets the standard
Permitting remains a massive roadblock, despite new EU rules aimed at streamlining the process. In fact, the situation worsened in 2024 in many countries. The bright spot? Germany. By embracing the EU’s permitting rules — with measures like binding deadlines and treating wind energy as a public interest priority — Germany approved a record 15 GW of new onshore wind in 2024. That’s seven times more than five years ago.
If other governments follow Germany’s lead, Europe could unlock the full potential of wind energy and bolster energy security.
Grid connections: a growing crisis
Access to the electricity grid is now the biggest obstacle to deploying wind energy. And it’s not just about long queues — Europe’s grid infrastructure isn’t expanding fast enough to keep up with demand. A glaring example is Germany’s 900-megawatt (MW) Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm. The turbines are ready to go, but the grid connection won’t be in place until 2026.
This issue isn’t isolated. Governments need to accelerate grid expansion if they’re serious about meeting renewable energy targets.
Electrification: falling behind
Wind energy’s growth is also tied to how quickly Europe electrifies its economy. Right now, electricity accounts for just 23% of the EU’s total energy consumption. That needs to jump to 61% by 2050 to align with climate goals. However, electrification efforts in key sectors like transportation, heating, and industry are moving too slowly.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has tasked Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with crafting an Electrification Action Plan. That can’t come soon enough.
More wind farms awarded, but challenges persist
On a positive note, governments across Europe awarded a record 37 GW of new wind capacity (29 GW in the EU) in 2024. But without faster permitting, better grid connections, and increased electrification, these awards won’t translate into the clean energy-producing wind farms Europe desperately needs.
Investments and corporate interest
Investments in wind energy totaled €31 billion in 2024, financing 19 GW of new capacity. While onshore wind investments remained strong at €24 billion, offshore wind funding saw a dip. Final investment decisions for offshore projects remain challenging due to slow permitting and grid delays.
Corporate consumers continue to show strong interest in wind energy. Half of all electricity contracted under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in 2024 was wind. Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of renewable PPAs.
Read more: Renewables could meet almost half of global electricity demand by 2030 – IEA
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the official unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, and more.
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The Chinese EV leader is launching a new flagship electric sedan. BYD’s new Han L EV leaked in China on Friday, revealing a potential Tesla Model S Plaid challenger.
What we know about the BYD Han L EV so far
We knew it was coming soon after BYD teased the Han L on social media a few days ago. Now, we are learning more about what to expect.
BYD’s new electric sedan appeared in China’s latest Ministry of Industry and Information Tech (MIIT) filing, a catalog of new vehicles that will soon be sold.
The filing revealed four versions, including two EV and two PHEV models. The Han L EV will be available in single- and dual-motor configurations. With a peak power of 580 kW (777 hp), the single-motor model packs more power than expected.
BYD’s dual-motor Han L gains an additional 230 kW (308 hp) front-mounted motor. As CnEVPost pointed out, the vehicle’s back has a “2.7S” badge, which suggests a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint time of just 2.7 seconds.
To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model S Plaid can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.1 seconds. In China, the Model S Plaid starts at RBM 814,900, or over $110,000. Speaking of Tesla, the EV leader just unveiled its highly anticipated Model Y “Juniper” refresh in China on Thursday. It starts at RMB 263,500 ($36,000).
BYD already sells the Han EV in China, starting at around RMB 200,000. However, the single front motor, with a peak power of 180 kW, is much less potent than the “L” model. The Han EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.
At 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,970 mm, BYD’s new Han L is roughly the size of the Model Y (4,970 mm long, 1,964 mm wide, 1,445 mm tall, wheelbase of 2,960 mm).
Other than that it will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack from BYD’s FinDreams unit, no other battery specs were revealed. Check back soon for the full rundown.
Source: CnEVPost, China MIIT
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