Rivian, which is a California-based electric vehicle startup that is being callingthe “Tesla of Trucks” is setting up a showroom in Seattle. Moreover, a service center in nearby Bellevue for this year’s scheduled rollout of its R1T, an all-electric pickup truck and R1S sport utility vehicle.

Rivian: Hundreds of Thousands of Electric Vans

The Seattle-based Amazon is one of Rivian’s marquee investors. So the company’s Puget Sound presence makes sense. There is a pledge to buy 100,000 electric vans from Rivian for its nationwide delivery fleet. Moreover, last month, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos showed off the R1T in a video made for his Blue Origin space venture.

R1T Truck

Carrying a base list price starting at $67,500, the R1T truck is due to be delivering in June. Priced at $70,000 and up, the all-electric R1S is scheduling to roll out in August. There is a full-up waiting list of about 30,000 customers for the first wave of deliveries. There continue to be deposits of $1,000 to taken for later rounds.

Rivian: 10 Showrooms and 40 Plus Service Centers

In the U.S. and Canada over the coming year, Rivian says it is opening 10 showrooms and more than 40 service centers.

It is reporting that Rivian’s Seattle showroom will be in the one-time home of the Federal Army & Navy Surplus Store. This will be in the Belltown neighborhood. It is not far from Pike Place Market and the Amazon Spheres. Rivian’s showroom, technically speaking isn’t the same as a dealership. Its customers will be able to see the vehicles up close and take a test drive. However, they won’t be able to drive a truck off the lot. Purchases will be making online instead.

A Rivian service center was taking shape on Bellevue’s Auto Row. This was at the intersection of Northeast Eighth Street and 116th Avenue Northeast. Signage at a construction street reinforced an impression and it was a check of Rivian’s hiring plans. In fact, Rivian later confirmed the site will indeed be a service center.