The online barbs continue to fly in the competitive world of electric truck tech. A post on LinkedIn shows a Tesla Cybertruck giving an "emergency charge" to a Rivian R1S.
"My neighbor shared this picture with me. He got an emergency charge on his Rivian R1S by a Tesla Cybertruck on a road trip with his family," Kitty Adama Hoksbergen, who works in the EV sector, shared on LinkedIn. "He is too p***** off at the moment to tell me the story."
While perhaps a bit comical, the post highlights a serious concern among EV drivers: finding a reliable place to charge.
Tesla's Powershare feature provided the ability to charge the Rivian. It can also give power to homes and other equipment.
Developments in charging tech are regularly announced. Researchers in India, for example, are working on a universal charger that can juice up batteries from 120 volts to 900 volts. Other brands, including Ford and Chevy, have trucks with the ability to power homes during blackouts, as well.
The competition isn't happening without cooperation. Rivian announced in June a deal that will provide its drivers access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers around the country via an adapter to be made available this year. By 2025, the company intends to make compatible charge ports standard on their R1 and R2 models. Rivian also plans to expand its charging network, all according to a press release.
Tesla's global Supercharger network boasts more than 50,000 sites that can provide a 200-mile range in 15 minutes, the company reports. It's a valuable asset to leverage.
While the stalled Rivian highlights a concern about charge accessibility, the banter from owners of the various electric truck brands is exciting. It means that more electric pickups are hitting the market, broadening the options for cleaner travel.
Footage posted by Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesLa) on X, formerly known as Twitter, from Sacramento's Hollister Hills shows several brands scaling the rocky terrain there, with users posting cheers and jeers, depending on their model preference.
The competition has been amplified since the Cybertruck was released on Nov. 30, with reservations reported by InsideEVs in September to be at two million.
Now, industry officials need to make sure there's a place to plug in.
"As more automakers in North America dive deeper into electric cars, they have started to realize the critical role charging stations play in the industry," Teslarati's Maria Merano wrote in a story about charging.
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