Cars are expensive. So, why not drive more two-wheeled options?
That’s what Also, a spinoff from EV-maker Rivian, is trying to convince customers. After months of delays, the company has begun delivering its $3,500 to $4,500 TM-B e-bikes to customers.
“The bike is almost like a Trojan horse for what’s coming,” Chris Yu, the cofounder and president, told Business Insider during a sit-down interview.
As cheap new cars keep disappearing from the US market and the average vehicle transaction price hovers above $51,000, several companies see an opportunity with small vehicles.
Toyota, for example, is bringing a tiny kei truck to the US market with a max speed of 25 mph. Fiat’s golf cart-like Topolino launched this summer. Business Insider has also spoken to several Slate Auto early adopters who plan to use their $24,900 trucks as around-town cars.
Also thinks you can accomplish the same trips on a bike.
Yu’s main argument: Around-town transportation should take a page out of the aviation sector’s book. There’s a wide array of plane types that perform very different tasks — but on American roads, DoorDash deliveries, school drop-offs, and hourslong trips are all accomplished with the same vehicles.
That’s “like we’re using a 747” to go shopping, he said.
Yu’s vision isn’t a replacement for the ever-popular SUV. Instead, 10 years in the future, the perfect garage will have a family SUV for long-haul trips, an e-bike for school drop-off, and a yet-to-be-announced Also product that could accomplish a family’s grocery run autonomously.
Also began as a skunkworks project inside Rivian before rolling out as a stand-alone company. It’s promising software-heavy products, including the TM-B, which gets a touchscreen, removable battery, and pedal-by-wire drivetrain.
The company partnered with DoorDash this year to develop and deploy autonomous delivery vehicles, and said its recent $150 million funding round would help it develop multiple autonomous vehicle types for moving people and goods.
Getting that first proof point on the road has not been easy. Also missed its original spring delivery target for the TM-B, and customers only began receiving the bike this fall.
Yu said the company was squeezed by surging demand for memory, chips, and high-performance circuit boards — all components used in AI servers and robotics. He said the delays taught ALSO to communicate more regularly with its reservation holders.
“Our customers called us out, and rightfully,” he told Business Insider. “People care. I remind employees all the time, it’s an incredible privilege for us to have a bunch of people care; there are so many companies that don’t have a Reddit audience.”
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