Rivian’s CEO has explained why he and the company aren’t concerned about U.S. President Donald Trump’s electric vehicle (EV) policies, including the repeal of the $7,500 federal tax credit.
During a conversation with Automotive News at Rivian’s opening of a new Space showroom in San Francisco on Thursday, CEO RJ Scaringe said that the company plans to remain a top competitor pushing U.S. electrification, with or without the tax credit or similar battery production incentives. Scaringe highlighted that the credit would be repealed equally for all automakers under the Trump administration, noting that he didn’t start the electric vehicle (EV) maker even knowing what the future landscape for subsidies might look like.
“I don’t think we’re particularly worried about any of it because whatever happens will be equally applied to all,” Scaringe said during the opening event. “I started the company with the view of making highly compelling products and none of my decision to start Rivian had anything to do with what the policy was going to look like.”
However, the Rivian CEO did signal that legacy automakers could be more likely to fund combustion engine development when considering short-term profitability for the next two to three years, though he says this would be mistake for the industry long-term.
“I think in the end it’s sort of like there’s small speed bumps along the way and it’s on us to respond to whatever that environment is,” the CEO said. “We’re really talking about U.S. leadership in the future of technology as it pertains to transportation. This is not a political thing. It’s not like the left wants to move to electrification. It’s that the future of transportation will be electric.”
Rivian executive reveals massive cost-savings from re-tooling Illinois plant
READ MORE ON RIVIAN: Rivian CEO details ‘very intentional’ move he made to be different than Tesla
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“The challenge with some of these short-term changes, for the world and for the U.S. leadership in technology, is that it will cause some manufacturers to invest less in electrification,” Scaringe notes. “And I think that’s probably good for Rivian from a competitive landscape, but bad for the world. If you’re optimizing purely for profitability in the next 2 to 3 years and you’re a traditional legacy manufacturer, you can see how you can very easily make a spreadsheet case of ‘Let’s double down on combustion or hybrids. I think that is a big miscalculation for the long term.”
The news also comes after Rivian gained a $6.6 billion commitment from the Department of Energy to help fund the construction of its upcoming factory in Georgia in November, officially closing on the loan on January 16. Amidst some speculation that the Trump administration could try to cancel the loan, Scaringe highlights that the agreement should already be set in stone, with the company subject to several conditions.
“We signed a legally binding agreement with the Department of Energy, to be clear,” Scaringe adds. “And, of course, that loan has a whole host of conditions that we negotiated over the last couple years.”
Rivian delivered 51,579 last year, marking a slight increase from 50,122 vehicles in 2023. The company also announced a major partnership and $5 billion investment deal with Volkswagen in June, and recent reports suggest that other manufacturers are also considering similar software supply deals with the EV company.
Meanwhile, Rivian and many other small EV makers are still attempting to turn production into profits, with the manufacturers still reporting substantial losses as they attempt to scale output. Many Tesla followers point out how close to bankruptcy the company came during its Model 3 ramp-up, and CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly echoed details about how difficult production is.
Similarly, however, Musk has also aired concerns about the potential for Rivian, Lucid and other growing EV makers to go bankrupt if they aren’t careful with their finances.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
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Tesla rivals Rivian and Lucid receive harsh prediction from Elon Musk
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Tesla is building its largest East Coast Supercharger in New York City, planning to bring a 64- to 68-stall station to Queens, New York.
It will end up being tied for the largest Supercharger on the East Coast with this number of stalls. The largest on the Eastern Seaboard is located in Halifax, North Carolina, and is also 68 stalls.
Tesla is currently building a new 64-stall Supercharger station in Queens, New York. This will be the biggest Supercharger station on the East Coast of the U.S.
It will also have two pull-through stalls for EVs with trailers. Thx for the pics @LetsCleanNYC. pic.twitter.com/CCo0dIoHin
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 16, 2026
The location is also set to be fitted with two pull-through stalls for EVs with trailers. We’ve seen Tesla implement these types of parking spots at newer locations as EV ownership continues to expand to those who do more than simply drive their cars.
There are plenty of Superchargers in the New York City metro, but they are mostly located in boroughs outside of Manhattan. There are five Superchargers in various neighborhoods of Manhattan, but there are limited plugs; usually only four per location. There are plenty of Destination Chargers in the Big Apple, though.
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Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn have become popular locations for companies to build out charging infrastructure for those who live in the highly populated boroughs. There is simply much more real estate to build effective EV charging stations.
The Supercharger will be located in Maspeth, Queens, at 48-26 54th Road. Maspeth has I-495 running through it, so this will be a great location for Tesla owners to hop off the highway on their way to Long Island or to Manhattan to charge up before continuing their journey.
Tesla has done a really great job of expanding its charging footprint throughout the past several years, especially by building large-scale projects that cater to areas that have a high volume of traffic and are main routes of travel to major areas. Tesla is making an effort to make charging less stressful and more widely available in these concentrated regions.
News
SpaceX just launched a secret payload from California
SpaceX launched a classified Space Force mission from Vandenberg, revealing almost nothing about its payload.
SpaceX launched a classified Falcon 9 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday night, and the government released almost nothing about what was on board. The mission, designated USSF-366, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E with a window that opened at 9:52 p.m. ET and ran into the early hours of Sunday, according to SpaceX’s own mission page, which described the payload only as classified. SpaceX confirmed the launch on its X account and pointed viewers to a livestream that began roughly ten minutes before liftoff.
Watch Falcon 9 launch the USSF-366 mission from pad 4E in California https://t.co/FFEzeYOds1
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 16, 2026
The lack of detail did not stop analysts from filling in the blanks. Independent tracking of the rocket’s stage drop zones matched the pattern SpaceX has used on previous Starlink Group 15 missions, according to reporting from Outer Space Today, which pointed to Starshield as the likely payload rather than a one off government satellite. Starshield is SpaceX’s national security product, a version of the Starlink satellite bus built to Pentagon specifications for earth observation, communications and hosted payloads. Unlike consumer Starlink, government agencies do not have to disclose what Starshield satellites are actually doing once they reach orbit.
USSF-366 is the latest entry in a steady flow of classified and semi classified work between SpaceX and the Space Force. The company picked up a $178.5 million task order in April to launch missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency, as Teslarati reported at the time, and followed that in July with a $1.6 billion award covering 18 more Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg through the end of 2027, also detailed by Teslarati. Add those contracts up and SpaceX’s Pentagon business for 2026 alone tops $8 billion.
SpaceX scores another massive Pentagon deal to support military satellites
The Falcon 9 that flew Saturday landed back near the launch site, producing the sonic booms that have become routine for residents near Vandenberg. What is less routine is how little the public will likely ever learn about what the rocket carried. SpaceX and the Space Force have not confirmed the Starshield connection, and government satellite programs built on commercial buses rarely get identified beyond a mission number and a general orbit. For a company that live streams almost everything else it does, from Starship test flights to Optimus robot demos, USSF-366 is a reminder that some of SpaceX’s busiest work now happens entirely out of public view.
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On Friday, Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter that enabled Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) energy transfer, meaning owners could essentially utilize their cars as a power source for things like laptops, electric grills, or string lights.
However, even owners of some of the newest builds of the Model Y are finding out that their cars are not compatible with the new $80 accessory, stirring up a new complaint among members of the community.
Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.
Upon the release of the Outlet Adapter on Friday, I signed into my Tesla account to order the accessory. However, I was met with the dreaded “This product is not compatible with your 2026 Model Y” message at the bottom of the screen.
Some said their accounts also displayed the same message, but they ordered anyway. However, they might be surprised to find that this is no mistake; some of the newest Model Ys do not have the appropriate Power Conversion System (PCS). Mine, which was ordered on this day last year and delivered on August 31, has the old 48A, single-phase PCS.
Vehicles with the new, two-piece PCS are able to utilize V2L features on their cars:
🚨 Looks like you can hit the Parts Catalog and enter your VIN and check to see if your Model Y will be able to use the adapter for V2L.https://t.co/QA9zRk7n2k
h/t to @SawyerMerritt for finding this out.
-I am sad but this isn’t a huge loss. https://t.co/AYpI12QVV9 pic.twitter.com/LRFSrtRywo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 16, 2026
Obviously, it’s disappointing. Many owners have taken delivery this year and still can not utilize the Outlet Adapter because their cars feature the old PCS:
Took delivery in February of 2026. I have the older one, so not going to work for me pic.twitter.com/RcOVq8gvvT
— Russell (@QuietTesla) August 16, 2026
It looks like if you have one of these older PCS units, you can upgrade, but the parts alone are $1,750, and that’s before Tesla adds labor for installing. It is honestly more logical to get some kind of portable power supply or power station at that point.
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It is great that Tesla has enabled V2L for Model Y vehicles, but it is also unfortunate that vehicles that are less than one year old are not able to take advantage of this awesome new feature.
With that being said, it truly is a first-world problem; can you really complain when Full Self-Driving is available, maintenance is incredibly inexpensive, and the car has been so good through a year of ownership?
Tesla is building its largest Supercharger on the East Coast in New York City
SpaceX just launched a secret payload from California
