Rivian Membership brings free charging and more

Rivian is an electric vehicle startup that is producing an electric pickup truck and electric SUV. The vehicle maker created a significant buzz with the design features of its electric vehicles and a massive investment from Ford, among other companies. The first customer Rivian pickup rolled off the assembly line recently, and vehicles will soon begin delivering to customers.

The automaker has also announced a new membership program called Rivian Membership that has several features that should interest owners of the vehicles. Rivian Membership includes unlimited free charging on the Rivian Adventure Network and at all Rivian Waypoints chargers across the country. Those charging networks should come online later this year.

Membership also offers Off-Roadside Assistance as an additional coverage that includes something called Adventure Extraction. What that feature does for owners is send someone with specialized equipment to extract the vehicle if it gets stuck on a trail. Another cool feature of Membership is called Charge Assurance.

With Charge Assurance, if the vehicle owner runs out of electricity and can't go any further, Rivian will send help to get the vehicle charged. It's unclear what form that help will take, presumably a tow to a nearby charging station. Membership also gives owners access to Rivian gatherings and events.

The service also features unlimited LTE connectivity and access to one-of-a-kind Rivian-led experiences in the future. Another benefit for those concerned about using green energy to charge the vehicle whenever possible is that Rivian is ensuring every mile owners drive with electricity from their charging network is matched with renewable energy resources from wind and solar. The offset is done whether the user is charging on the Rivian Adventure Network, Waypoints, or at home. Rivian buys renewable energy to match the owner's use, even at a partner charger networks.