California's new $3,500 instant EV rebate has a $50,000 price cap, and Rivian is written straight out of it. Here is what that means for R2 buyers, and why existing owners are shut out.
R2 deliveries have started. Rivian moved 12,194 vehicles in Q2, beat its outlook, and bumped its full year guidance up on the strength of it.
Rivian confirmed Tuesday it is cutting hundreds of jobs, less than 2% of its workforce, across its service and customer teams. The reductions land just one week after R2 deliveries began, with reporting putting this round at more than 300 people.
Volkswagen just raised its Rivian stake to 15.9% after another round of share purchases tied to the joint venture's milestone-based structure, putting VW closer than ever to being one of Rivian's most influential outside stakeholders.
Rivian's Georgia plant just got a real revision. Phase one capacity is going from 200,000 vehicles a year to 300,000, a 50% jump. The DOE loan also got smaller, from up to $6.6 billion down to up to $4.5 billion. Production is still on track for late 2028, and Rivian now expects to start drawing on the loan by early 2027.
R2 saleable production officially started last week in Normal, the Georgia plant got a 50% capacity bump to 300,000 units annually, and the $1 billion Volkswagen equity investment tied to RV Tech winter testing milestones hit Rivian today. Q1 revenue came in at $1.38 billion with deliveries up 20% year over year to 10,365.
Rivian has filled its top marketing seat. Jenny Lewis, formerly CMO at The Knot Worldwide, is joining as VP, Head of Marketing and eCommerce, ending the stretch where RJ Scaringe had been holding the role in an interim capacity since October 2025. The hire lands right as Rivian heads into its biggest marketing push yet with R2 first drives, the Block Party tour, and a wider brand expansion all on deck.
Rivian has now put out an official statement confirming that an EF-1 tornado touched down at the Normal Plant Friday night, damaging Building 2 which houses R2 assembly. No injuries, and the company expects to resume operations in that building this week. Operations elsewhere on the campus continue as normal.
Severe weather through Central Illinois last night reached Rivian's Normal plant, with early photos showing a section of roof caved in on Building 2, the newer addition tied to R2 assembly. The extent of the damage isn't clear yet, and we're holding off on speculation until Rivian or the town puts out something official.
Rivian and Redwood Materials are deploying a 10 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system at the Normal, Illinois plant, powered by more than 100 second-life Rivian battery packs. It's the largest repurposed battery energy storage system at any U.S. auto manufacturer, and it's designed to cut energy costs by reducing how much grid power the factory needs during peak demand.
