Watch a Rivian R1T Pull a 38,000-Pound Semi From the Snow

If you live somewhere that gets snow, you’ve likely seen all manner of motorists stranded in the shoulder during the winter months. Maybe, with a tow strap in your trunk and a trailer hitch on your bumper, you’ve even rescued a driver or two. But I doubt you, or anyone else, has managed what this Rivian driver did: Rescuing a full tractor trailer from the edge of a snowy Utah road.

Mylo Fowler, an R1T owner and off-road enthusiast, stumbled into a classic winter driving scene last week — two vehicles, both stranded in the snowy fields beside an open road. One vehicle, a sedan, was rescued by a Ram pickup. The other, a 38,000-pound trailer, was left to the Rivian to save.

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Fowler hooked the semi’s trailer up to his R1T but couldn’t initially get enough traction to make a difference. The primary issue was traffic — vehicles in the other lane pushed the Rivian into the shoulder, where it churned up dirt rather than pulling the tractor trailer. Once both lanes cleared, Fowler re-angled the R1T in hopes of pulling the trailer straight back onto the road. Somehow, it worked.

Of course, the Rivian wasn’t responsible for all 38,000 pounds of truck, trailer, and DVD players. The truck’s driver worked with Fowler, applying the throttle in reverse while the Rivian pulled. By their powers combined, the truck managed to find its way back to pavement — and Fowler appears to have maintained enough charge to get home.

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Rivian’s trucks always seem to get into the most interesting, social-media-worthy messes, yet they always seem to come our ahead. Maybe it’s the four motors, maybe it’s the curb weight pinning those tires to the ground, or maybe Rivian owners are simply more willing to try things out — and prove that electric pickups can hang with the big kids.