Rivian has not even begun building pre-production versions of its RiT electric truck and R1S electric SUV, but it raised almost $3 billion in 2019, capped by its most recent funding round that added $1.3 billion to the company’s coffers. This latest round was led by T. Rowe Price, which is also a major investor in Tesla.
Amazon has led a $700 million funding round for Rivian, the electric pickup and SUV startup headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan. Production is scheduled to begin in late 2020.
The most popular CleanTechnica stories of the past month, surprisingly, led with a story about why to not buy a Tesla. (Sort of.)
Rivian took the Los Angeles Auto Show by storm for the reveal of its fully electric truck and SUV. Both are based on the same skateboard-style electric chassis, which will be available with three different battery sizes for a maximum range of 400+ miles per charge in the largest configuration.
Six years ago, the then new electric vehicle revolution got off to a shaky start. Nissan and Tesla fired the first salvo at the legacy auto manufactures with their mass-produced electric vehicles. Nissan’s LEAF was an adjunct to the company’s gasoline car lineup. Tesla bet the farm on electric. Since then, the industry has had fits and starts, with some amazing technology and some mediocre compliance cars. However, gasoline car manufacturers and ancillary industries predict a major sea change coming if EVs are not stopped.
The still relatively secretive electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive has been granted (providing certain employment benchmarks are met) $49.5 million in Edge tax credits in Illinois, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner recently announced.
