Rivian Rescued That Mysterious R1T Stuck for Months in Arizona

A "specially equipped" R1S was used to rescue the trapped pickup, Rivian says.
A red Rivian R1T drives down a trail in the woods.
Rivian

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The strange story of the Rivian R1T mired in the Arizona mud has come to an end—and with decidedly little fanfare. We previously reported on the stuck pickup just last week, though, allegedly, it’d been left for dead since February. TikTok hadn’t told us until now! Too busy with the dancing memes, I guess.

Speaking of digging, there’d been much speculation as to how, why, and precisely when this R1T met its perplexing circumstances. The user that brought the vehicle to our attention, SayWhatWendy, reported on the situation but never offered any additional details, like who left it there. The videos were tightly cropped, mainly focusing on the R1T.

Since they weren’t providing much info, we contacted Rivian to see if it was aware of what was going on and could provide some insight. After just two days, Rivian reported back that the ravine-trapped R1T was no longer stranded.

“We were made aware of this customer’s R1T that required assistance to recover,” said Mikhael Farah, Rivian’s director of automotive product communications. “Our engineering team happened to be in the area and decided to lend a hand. Using a specially equipped R1S, our team was able to extract the R1T for the customer and get it back on the road.”

Technically, while we don’t know how the R1T got there, it seems going off the road was the driver’s plan. All the same, the automaker didn’t provide further details, and TikTok hasn’t offered any updates since. If there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s to maybe contact the manufacturer directly if local towing and extraction companies are unable or unwilling to help. As for the how, when, why, and where, guess we’ll just have to place this R1T mystery alongside the Phoenix Lights as great Arizona lore.

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