Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s touching adventure with R1T owner
Rivian is an electric vehicle manufacturer that encourages customers to seek adventure. CEO RJ Scaringe truly believes in Rivian’s message.
Between 2019 and 2023, a Rivian R1T brought two unlikely people together and walked them through a touching adventure of perseverance and compassion.
In 2019, Guy Charest from Quebec ordered a Rivian R1T pickup truck. Charest was a freshly retired aeronautics consultant. He was excited to take his Rivian R1T on adventures with his wife, Julie Thériault.
Life had some other plans for Charest, though. Two years after he ordered his Rivian R1T, Charest was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a neurological disorder affecting motor neurons, nerve cells, and the spinal cord. It can impact voluntary muscle control movement and breathing.
The retired aeronautics consultant was eager to drive his Rivian R1T before his ALS diagnosis progressed. With his goal in mind, Charest wrote to Scaringe via LinkedIn and shared his story.
“Guy told [Scaringe] he wanted to drive a Rivian while he still could. We were taking all the legal responsibilities to make that happen,” shared Charest’s wife with Le Journal.
Scaringe was moved by Charest’s story and contacted one of Rivian’s directors, saying, “Do something special so that Mr. Charest would have his truck.”
Like all adventures, however, there were twists and turns in Scaringe and Charest’s story. According to Thériault, Rivian tried everything to get her husband behind the wheel of a Rivian R1T. At one point, the company attempted to hire Guy as a representative and test driver.
Charest eventually achieved his goal and some. He didn’t receive his R1T pickup truck until 2023. By that time, his ALS disorder had progressed, and he wasn’t able to drive the pickup truck that he ordered in 2019. However, fate has a funny way of working out sometimes.
In 2022, Rivian succeeded in getting Charest behind an R1T pickup truck, albeit not his own. The company invited Charest and his wife to its factory in Normal, Illinois. Charest drove an R1T truck for a few hours around Rivian’s factory, even taking it for a spin around the off-road section.
To top it all off, RJ Scaringe and Charest met face-to-face during his visit to Normal. Scaringe apparently left a meeting to share a moment with Charest.
“For me, it was RJ’s generosity that struck me. He is a brilliant and humane man.”
Guy Charest and RJ Scaringe’s journey will undoubtedly be one of the memorable adventure stories to come out of Rivian in the company’s lifetime. How about you? Share your memorable adventure stories with us.
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