Rivian is ready for its breakout moment. The startup automaker is stepping out of the realm of lower-volume, higher-priced large SUVs and trucks and into the mass-market arena with the 2027 R2. The warmup act was impressive, but the R2 is make or break for the company.
In Park City, Utah, Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe sat down with The Drive for an exclusive one-on-one discussion ranging from the entire company being built around this moment and the R2, to the automaker’s new factory in Georgia, the Rivian Adventure Network buildout, scaling a service division, growing pains, and more.
View Price on AmazonThe latest episode of The Drivecast goes behind the curtain and inside Rivian’s roadmap as the automaker goes after mainstream consumers, the most important automotive segment, and up against the best-selling vehicles. Scaringe speaks about how scaling service was painful and didn’t go well out the gate along with where it is today, the timeline for the Georgia factory and its charging network, and gives a brief hint on the R4 while discussing what RAD vehicles need to be and what enthusiasts can look forward to.
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Joel: So, RJ, I’ve known you a long time. You’re the founder, CEO of Rivian. I still remember with you when I met you at the LA Auto Show, I think it was 2018, and we were supposed to have a 30-minute interview, and after an hour and a half, you and I got ripped out of the room. They’re like, “You’re done, we’re having enough.” But we were asking all these questions, and at the time, I mean, Rivian was super young, right? It was the coming-out party. And you were so honest with so many of the answers. It was like, “You know, I don’t really know yet,” because it was day one. And you’re like, “We could do this, we could do that.” It was kind of refreshing. But for people that don’t know who you are, you’re actually a true car enthusiast. If I remember correctly, one of your favorite cars is a Porsche 911 from like the ’80s and like rally spec, lifted, and all that stuff for like dirt roads. Am I remembering this correctly?
RJ: I don’t know if I have a favorite, but that’s an interesting car for sure. Yeah, I have but uh, had to pick a 911, I’d probably pick a 993.
Joel: 993?
RJ: Yeah.
Joel: Okay. Which spec?
RJ: I would go Carrera 4S or a Turbo.
Joel: Okay, so you’re definitely—
RJ: Or Carrera 2S is pretty cool as well. I mean, they’re all they’re all great.
Joel: So you’re a true enthusiast on this stuff.
RJ: Yeah. Yeah.
Joel: All right. So I just drove R2. R2 is literally launching, I mean, yesterday when this comes out. Uh, obviously we’re both tired. Yesterday was a long day, but R2 is now getting in the hands of people. Let’s start with R2. R2 is arguably make-and-break. We talked about this yesterday as a collective group at lunch. This you’ve bet the company on this and AI essentially, right? Like, this has to fly. Right now, last year you guys made gross profit margins of around 10% to 15% on the R1T. That’s pretty impressive for a company in its first year, but the R2 is going to have to do much better than that, and it has to appeal to a much wider audience.
Source: thedrive.com
