Watch the Rivian R1T dominate off-road terrain in eerie silence

Rivian is one of the most hotly anticipated electric vehicle upstarts of the moment. However, because of how the global pandemic slowed production, we’re having to wait a little longer before we can get a real-world look at its vehicles.

Until now!

Over the past week, RJ Scaringe, the boss of Amazon-backed Rivian, has posted a series of short videos to his Twitter account which show a couple of Rivian R1T electric trucks being put through their paces on mud, snow, and dusty rock.

The videos also show just how capable the R1T is at tackling steep inclines and declines on loose gravel. Check them out below.

Sunday testing :) pic.twitter.com/L5W3E7nui2

— RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe) January 31, 2021

The 💜 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

[Read: How Polestar is using blockchain to increase transparency]

Testing in Arizona! pic.twitter.com/rREMaKReDe

— RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe) February 11, 2021

Steep grades. pic.twitter.com/3kClLD4rAF

— RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe) February 13, 2021

Going by when and where these videos appear to have been posted from, it seems Scaringe and his crew took the vehicles out east of LA, eventually to Arizona.

I’m rather pleased to say, that there’s nothing else to say except that the R1Ts show themselves to be extremely capable off-roaders. On steep inclines, the R1T bounces happily over the dirt. There’s a bit of wheel spin, but it always keeps going forward.

On the declines, the R1T descends confidently. We can also see the Rivian entirely lock wheels that leave the ground, suggesting that its traction control and hill descent systems are working as they should.

The weirdest thing of all, though, is how the R1T does it all in complete silence. On one hand it’s kind of creepy not having a roaring engine and exhaust smoke pouring out the back, but on the other, it sure makes it easier to shout instructions to the driver.

Sure, all we have to go on are a few short clips, but there’s nothing to suggest the production R1T’s won’t be simply great. What’s more, even though these are test vehicles, the interior looks very close to being finished. A sign that the R1T and R1S aren’t too far away.