This Doctor Used His Rivian R1T To Complete A Vasectomy

As far as anyone knows, this is the first time a Rivian has been used for a medical procedure.

By: Jeff Perez

Sep 2, 2022 at 12:41pm ET

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One of the coolest things about modern electric vehicles is that you can use them as mobile generators. The Ford F-150 Lightning has gotten a lot of press recently for saving wedding receptions and helping power neighborhoods with its onboard electricity. Not to be outdone by Ford though, the Rivian R1T is getting attention on Twitter for using its external charging capabilities for something a bit different.

Dr. Christopher Yang is a practicing urologist in Austin, Texas, and the proud owner of an all-electric Rivian R1T pickup. But after a power outage temporarily halted plans for a customer's vasectomy, Yang and his team had to come up with a unique backup plan.

"I performed what is likely the world's first Rivian-powered vasectomy today," Dr. Yang noted in a tweet he posted to his personal account yesterday. "Power in the clinic went out, patient didn't want to reschedule cause he already had time off. The electrocautery was normal, the procedure went great!"

In an interview with The Drive, Yang said that one of his staff members came up with the bright idea to use R1T as a mobile generator for the procedure. After the patient agreed, Yang used an extension cord to plug his electrocautery machine and a small fan into the Rivian’s power outlets.

"We were fortunate that my normal parking spot is close enough to a patient room to run an extension cord," Yang said in the interview.

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With about the same capacity as a standard in-home plug, the Rivian has four 110-volt outlets. One is located in the center console, another lives in the gear tunnel, and two more are in the truck bed itself. In this case, Yang used the 110-volt outlets in the bed of the truck, running an extension cord over an A/C unit and into the office for the procedure.

Thankfully, the entire procedure went off without a hitch.