Hacker News Reader

Rivians cost ~45% more per-unit than the postal vehicle (86k vs $59k), and doesn’t come in an ice variant, which the Post Office requires.

Why does it require a variant? Why can't the necessary ICE vehicles be one of the countless existing options?

Having a common platform for postal vehicles makes things like maintenance easier.

Seems like ice requirements don’t apply to every state

They don’t, but California essentially dictates them because nobody wants to cut themselves out of the richest state’s car sales

The ice requirement has nothing to do with California standards, which only applies to cars bought in California, which USPS doesn’t do.

Some postal routes are in cold climates with harsh winters where EVs would be impractical.