Rivian has announced the conditional approval of a loan of up to $6.6 billion for its previously delayed Georgia manufacturing facility, set to help the company fund production of its upcoming R2 SUV and R3 and R3X crossovers.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has granted Rivian conditional approval for the Georgia factory loan as part of its Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program, according to a press release shared by the automaker on Tuesday. The news comes after Rivian was forced to delay the Georgia plant as detailed in an announcement earlier this year, instead pivoting to have the R2 begin production at its factory in Normal, Illinois due to financial concerns and a desire to launch manufacturing of the platform sooner.
Credit: State of Georgia Credit: State of Georgia Credit: Rivian
Rivian says the loan includes $6 billion of principal and roughly $600 million of capitalized interest, set to help reboot the automaker’s plans to construct a production facility outside of Social Circle, Georgia, at the Stanton Springs North manufacturing hub. The company expects Phase One of the project to start producing vehicles by 2028, initially offering 200,000 units of annual production capacity and doubling that upon completion of Phase Two.
The company also says the facility will create around 7,500 operations jobs through 2030, along with around 2,000 full-time jobs expected during construction.
“This loan will help create thousands of new American jobs and further strengthen U.S. leadership in EV manufacturing and technology,” says RJ Scaringe, Rivian CEO and founder. “This loan would enable Rivian to more aggressively scale our U.S. manufacturing footprint for our competitively priced R2 and R3 vehicles that emphasize both capability and affordability. A robust ecosystem of U.S. companies developing and manufacturing EVs is critical for the U.S. to maintain its long-term leadership in transportation.”
Rivian’s quest to profitability and VW partnership
Rivian was initially approved to build the roughly-$5-billion factory in Georgia last November, after it first announced plans to build such a plant in 2021. The factory has been widely expected to produce the upcoming R2 electric vehicle (EV), as well as the R3 and R3X platforms that were announced unexpectedly alongside the R2 announcement in March.
Despite having already selected a construction company for the project as of last December, Rivian also announced in March that it would start producing the R2 at its existing Illinois factory, where the R1T and R1S are built, instead of waiting until the Georgia factory was complete. The company also announced plans to delay construction of the plant, instead focusing on reaching profitability, jump-starting R2 production, and hopefully gaining additional capital to support the launch of the facility.
In June, Volkswagen announced plans to invest up to $5 billion into Rivian, the first $1 billion of which was reported to have been paid via a convertible note during the EV startup’s Q2 earnings call. Earlier this month, the two announced plans to further expand a joint venture that would see the R2 launch as soon as early 2026, along with supporting additional VW models in 2027.
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Scout Motors brings the past to the future with new models
Tesla has given its biggest hint that Full Self-Driving in Europe is imminent, as a new feature seems to show that the company is preparing for frequent border crossings.
Tesla owner and influencer BLKMDL3, also known as Zack, recently took his Tesla to the border of California and Mexico at Tijuana, and at the international crossing, Full Self-Driving showed an interesting message: “Upcoming country border — FSD (Supervised) will become unavailable.”
FSD now shows a new message when approaching an international border crossing.
Stayed engaged the whole way as we crossed the border and worked great in Mexico! pic.twitter.com/bDzyLnyq0g
— Zack (@BLKMDL3) January 26, 2026
Due to regulatory approvals, once a Tesla operating on Full Self-Driving enters a new country, it is required to comply with the laws and regulations that are applicable to that territory. Even if legal, it seems Tesla will shut off FSD temporarily, confirming it is in a location where operation is approved.
This is something that will be extremely important in Europe, as crossing borders there is like crossing states in the U.S.; it’s pretty frequent compared to life in America, Canada, and Mexico.
Tesla has been working to get FSD approved in Europe for several years, and it has been getting close to being able to offer it to owners on the continent. However, it is still working through a lot of the red tape that is necessary for European regulators to approve use of the system on their continent.
This feature seems to be one that would be extremely useful in Europe, considering the fact that crossing borders into other countries is much more frequent than here in the U.S., and would cater to an area where approvals would differ.
Tesla has been testing FSD in Spain, France, England, and other European countries, and plans to continue expanding this effort. European owners have been fighting for a very long time to utilize the functionality, but the red tape has been the biggest bottleneck in the process.
Tesla Europe builds momentum with expanding FSD demos and regional launches
Tesla operates Full Self-Driving in the United States, China, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship V3 gets launch date update from Elon Musk
The first flight of Starship Version 3 and its new Raptor V3 engines could happen as early as March.
Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX’s next Starship launch, Flight 12, is expected in about six weeks. This suggests that the first flight of Starship Version 3 and its new Raptor V3 engines could happen as early as March.
In a post on X, Elon Musk stated that the next Starship launch is in six weeks. He accompanied his announcement with a photo that seemed to have been taken when Starship’s upper stage was just about to separate from the Super Heavy Booster. Musk did not state whether SpaceX will attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster during the upcoming flight.
The upcoming flight will mark the debut of Starship V3. The upgraded design includes the new Raptor V3 engine, which is expected to have nearly twice the thrust of the original Raptor 1, at a fraction of the cost and with significantly reduced weight. The Starship V3 platform is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability.
The Starship V3 Flight 12 launch timeline comes as SpaceX pursues an aggressive development cadence for the fully reusable launch system. Previous iterations of Starship have racked up a mixed but notable string of test flights, including multiple integrated flight tests in 2025.
Interestingly enough, SpaceX has teased an aggressive timeframe for Starship V3’s first flight. Way back in late November, SpaceX noted on X that it will be aiming to launch Starship V3’s maiden flight in the first quarter of 2026. This was despite setbacks like a structural anomaly on the first V3 booster during ground testing.
“Starship’s twelfth flight test remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026,” the company wrote in its post on X.
News
Tesla China rolls out Model 3 insurance subsidy through February
Eligible customers purchasing a Model 3 by February 28 can receive an insurance subsidy worth RMB 8,000 (about $1,150).
Tesla has rolled out a new insurance subsidy for Model 3 buyers in China, adding another incentive as the automaker steps up promotions in the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
Eligible customers purchasing a Model 3 by February 28 can receive an insurance subsidy worth RMB 8,000 (about $1,150).
A limited-time subsidy
The insurance subsidy, which was announced by Tesla China on Weibo, applies to the Model 3 RWD, Long Range RWD, and Long Range AWD variants. Tesla stated that the offer is available to buyers who complete their purchase on or before February 28, as noted in a CNEV Post report. The starting prices for these variants are RMB 235,500, RMB 259,500, and RMB 285,500, respectively.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance, which starts at RMB 339,500, is excluded from the subsidy. The company has previously used insurance incentives at the beginning of the year to address softer seasonal demand in China’s auto market. The program is typically phased out as sales conditions stabilize over the year.
China’s electric vehicle market
The insurance subsidy followed Tesla’s launch of a 7-year low-interest financing plan in China on January 6, which is aimed at improving vehicle affordability amid changing policy conditions. After Tesla introduced the financing program, several automakers, such as Xiaomi, Li Auto, Xpeng, and Voyah, introduced similar long-term financing options.
China’s electric vehicle market has faced additional headwinds entering 2026. Buyers of new energy vehicles are now subject to a 5% purchase tax, compared with the previous full exemption. At the same time, vehicle trade-in subsidies in several cities are expected to expire in mid-November.
Tesla’s overall sales in China declined in 2025, with deliveries totaling 625,698 vehicles, down 4.78% year-over-year. Model 3 deliveries increased 13.33% to 200,361 units, while Model Y deliveries, which were hampered by the changeover to the new Model Y in the first quarter, fell 11.45% to 425,337 units.
Tesla gives its biggest hint that Full Self-Driving in Europe is imminent
SpaceX Starship V3 gets launch date update from Elon Musk
