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Rivian’s manufacturing plant moves closer to full-scale production, documents show
Rivian’s production plant in Normal, Illinois is moving swiftly toward its first days of full-scale production. New documents acquired by Teslarati show the automaker is applying for, submitting, and completing several new additions to its manufacturing plant that will soon begin cranking out builds of its all-electric R1T pickup.
Documents from the Normal, Illinois Inspection Department’s Monthly Permit and Project Summary for February 2021 show Rivian has recently submitted, had permits approved for, and is completing several add-ons to its new factory. While the plant sits at 100 Rivian Motorway, several other addresses on the documents apply to Rivian’s plans, including 100 Rivian Parkway, 301 Kerrick Road, 2430 Electric Avenue, and 2601 W. College Avenue.
With the production of the R1T planned for later this year and deliveries slated for June 2021, Rivian, headed by CEO RJ Scaringe, undoubtedly has major potential to make this year its biggest yet. Of course, delivering its first car to a customer would already be monumental for the company, but production and construction efforts were delayed in 2020 to this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Rivian is working to put the finishing touches on its facility as production nears.
Rivian R1T spotted on public roads once again prior to launch
The portion of the documents that outlines the “Significant Projects” in the town of Normal is predominantly comprised of Rivian’s construction efforts at the facility. A breakdown of Rivian’s construction progress is as follows:
301 Kerrick Road
Rivian Lease Buildout – Framing & Roughs
100 Rivian Parkway
Main Entry Renovation – In Progress
Cable Tray Structural – In Progress
Start Me Up Offices – In Progress
North EOL Addition – In Progress
Skateboard Addition – In Progress
North Body Addition – Foundation Work
Cafeteria Remodel – In Progress
S17 Equipment Mezzanine – In Progress
Teams Room #3 – In Progress
Equipment Mezzanines – Foundations & Framing
Battery Mezzanine – Foundations & Framing
100 Rivian Motorway
Paint Shop Lab – Temporary Occupancy
Stamping/Final Assembly – Temporary Occupancy
Final Assembly Floor R1 – In Progress
Phase II Team Rooms, Paint Shop – In Progress
South End Plant Additions – Temporary Occupancy
West Plant Addition – Interior Buildout
2460 Electric Avenue
Service Station Building – In Progress
Vibration Test Lab Addition – Temporary Occupancy
2601 W. College Avenue
Warehouse Remodel – In Progress
Additionally, Rivian also recently submitted two new projects for 100 Rivian Parkway for Outbound Logistics and Phase 3-5 Team Rooms. Rivian was also granted three “Significant Construction Permits for the Month,” two at 100 Rivian Parkway ((Equipment Mezzanines – $11 million, Battery Mezzanine – $463k) and one at 301 Kerrick Road (Rivian Lease Buildout – $1.5 million).
It is worth noting that Rivian’s production facility has been under construction for several years, and was still being completed internally in April 2020, when the company broke the news regarding production delays. Luckily, the company has plenty of financial backing and recently rounded out a $2.65 billion investment round. Rivian recently announced it has partnered with Meridian Audio, and the R1T has been spotted several times in public ahead of initial production.
Documents regarding Rivian’s production facility are available below.
Rivian Normal Il Report February 2021 by Joey Klender on Scribd
Tesla has added the 15th automaker to the growing list of companies whose EVs can utilize the Supercharger Network this year, as BMW is the latest company to gain access to the largest charging infrastructure in the world.
BMW became the 15th company in 2025 to gain Tesla Supercharger access, after the company confirmed to its EV owners that they could use any of the more than 25,000 Supercharging stalls in North America.
Welcome @BMW owners.
Download the Tesla app to charge → https://t.co/vnu0NHA7Ab
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) December 10, 2025
Newer BMW all-electric cars, like the i4, i5, i7, and iX, are able to utilize Tesla’s V3 and V4 Superchargers. These are the exact model years, via the BMW Blog:
- i4: 2022-2026 model years
- i5: 2024-2025 model years
- 2026 i5 (eDrive40 and xDrive40) after software update in Spring 2026
- i7: 2023-2026 model years
- iX: 2022-2025 model years
- 2026 iX (all versions) after software update in Spring 2026
With the expansion of the companies that gained access in 2025 to the Tesla Supercharger Network, a vast majority of non-Tesla EVs are able to use the charging stalls to gain range in their cars.
So far in 2025, Tesla has enabled Supercharger access to:
- Audi
- BMW
- Genesis
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Jaguar Land Rover
- Kia
- Lucid
- Mercedes-Benz
- Nissan
- Polestar
- Subaru
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
- Volvo
Drivers with BMW EVs who wish to charge at Tesla Superchargers must use an NACS-to-CCS1 adapter. In Q2 2026, BMW plans to release its official adapter, but there are third-party options available in the meantime.
They will also have to use the Tesla App to enable Supercharging access to determine rates and availability. It is a relatively seamless process.
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Tesla adds new feature that will be great for crowded parking situations
This is the most recent iteration of the app and was priming owners for the slowly-released Holiday Update.
Tesla has added a new feature that will be great for crowded parking lots, congested parking garages, or other confusing times when you cannot seem to pinpoint where your car went.
Tesla has added a new Vehicle Locator feature to the Tesla App with App Update v4.51.5.
This is the most recent iteration of the app and was priming owners for the slowly-released Holiday Update.
While there are several new features, which we will reveal later in this article, perhaps one of the coolest is that of the Vehicle Locator, which will now point you in the direction of your car using a directional arrow on the home screen. This is similar to what Apple uses to find devices:
Interesting. The location arrow in the Tesla app now points to your car when you’re nearby. pic.twitter.com/b0yjmwwzxN
— Whole Mars Catalog (@wholemars) December 7, 2025
In real time, the arrow gives an accurate depiction of which direction you should walk in to find your car. This seems extremely helpful in large parking lots or unfamiliar shopping centers.
Getting to your car after a sporting event is an event all in itself; this feature will undoubtedly help with it:
The nice little touch that Tesla have put in the app – continuous tracking of your vehicle location relative to you.
There’s people reporting dizziness testing this.
To those I say… try spinning your phone instead. 😉 pic.twitter.com/BAYmJ3mzzD
— Some UK Tesla Guy (UnSupervised…) (@SomeUKTeslaGuy) December 8, 2025
Tesla’s previous app versions revealed the address at which you could locate your car, which was great if you parked on the street in a city setting. It was also possible to use the map within the app to locate your car.
However, this new feature gives a more definitive location for your car and helps with the navigation to it, instead of potentially walking randomly.
It also reveals the distance you are from your car, which is a big plus.
Along with this new addition, Tesla added Photobooth features, Dog Mode Live Activity, Custom Wraps and Tints for Colorizer, and Dashcam Clip details.
🚨 Tesla App v4.51.5 looks to be preparing for the Holiday Update pic.twitter.com/ztts8poV82
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 8, 2025
All in all, this App update was pretty robust.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shaded Waymo in a post on X on Wednesday, stating the company “never really had a chance” and that it “will be obvious in hindsight.”
Tesla and Waymo are the two primary contributors to the self-driving efforts in the United States, with both operating driverless ride-hailing services in the country. Tesla does have a Safety Monitor present in its vehicles in Austin, Texas, and someone in the driver’s seat in its Bay Area operation.
Musk says the Austin operation will be completely void of any Safety Monitors by the end of the year.
🚨 Tesla vs. Waymo Geofence in Austin https://t.co/A6ffPtp5xv pic.twitter.com/mrnL0YNSn4
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 10, 2025
With the two companies being the main members of the driverless movement in the U.S., there is certainly a rivalry. The two have sparred back and forth with their geofences, or service areas, in both Austin and the Bay Area.
While that is a metric for comparison now, ultimately, it will not matter in the coming years, as the two companies will likely operate in a similar fashion.
Waymo has geared its business toward larger cities, and Tesla has said that its self-driving efforts will expand to every single one of its vehicles in any location globally. This is where the true difference between the two lies, along with the fact that Tesla uses its own vehicles, while Waymo has several models in its lineup from different manufacturers.
The two also have different ideas on how to solve self-driving, as Tesla uses a vision-only approach. Waymo relies on several things, including LiDAR, which Musk once called “a fool’s errand.”
This is where Tesla sets itself apart from the competition, and Musk highlighted the company’s position against Waymo.
Jeff Dean, the Chief Scientist for Google DeepMind, said on X:
“I don’t think Tesla has anywhere near the volume of rider-only autonomous miles that Waymo has (96M for Waymo, as of today). The safety data is quite compelling for Waymo, as well.”
Musk replied:
“Waymo never really had a chance against Tesla. This will be obvious in hindsight.”
Waymo never really had a chance against Tesla. This will be obvious in hindsight.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2025
Tesla stands to have a much larger fleet of vehicles in the coming years if it chooses to activate Robotaxi services with all passenger vehicles. A simple Over-the-Air update will activate this capability, while Waymo would likely be confined to the vehicles it commissions as Robotaxis.
Tesla adds 15th automaker to Supercharger access in 2025
Tesla adds new feature that will be great for crowded parking situations
