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Rivian CFO makes avalanche of announcements, woos investors

Credit: Rivian

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The Rivian CFO has made several announcements at the recent Bank of America Securities Summit, enticing investors and fans alike.

Rivian is finally catching its stride following a successful first quarter of the year, and coming off this excellent production ramp; the automaker is headed toward a whole new set of challenges, relating to everything from its second-generation R2 vehicle to its profitability to its ongoing R1 truck ramp. Luckily, the company’s CFO, Claire Rauh McDonough, released new information covering these points at last week’s Bank of America Securities Summit.

@RivianUpdates initially reported the tsunami of Rivian announcements on Twitter in a lengthy thread covering the numerous statements. Still, they can essentially be boiled down to three main points, R1 production updates, the Van production ramp, and R2 updates, along with a couple of minor updates.

R1 Production Updates:

Perhaps the most notable announcement from the BofA summit is the news regarding the company’s premier truck offering, the R1 lineup. Foremost, Rivian remains on track to achieve profitability by the second half of 2024, motivated essentially entirely by R1 and van deliveries. Further, while McDonough did not disclose the total number of backlog orders, the company anticipates completing all of its pre-March price increase orders by mid-2023. It has a backlog extending “well into 2024” with orders from after the price increase.

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On top of this sales success, Rivian is learning some surprising things about its newest customers, primarily their price point. Rivian’s CFO notes that the automaker has seen the average purchase price of its trucks steadily increase, indicating that more premium buyers are coming to the automaker, who are typically more willing to purchase the optional add-ons. However, following these comments, the company executive noted that Rivian does not currently plan to increase the base price of its R1 vehicles.

Looking to the future of the R1 vehicles, the CFO notes that Rivian plans to produce 85,000 vehicles annually by 2026, a production number that the automaker has previously stayed tight-lipped about.

R2 Design and Production Updates:

As the Rivian R1 vehicles have continued to age, the anticipation for the company’s next generation “R2” trucks has built. And while Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has noted the business plans to make the upcoming truck a more affordable model, other details have yet to be revealed.

Most surprising to investors was the CFO’s bold estimation of R2 production, which is anticipated to begin in the 2025-2026 timeframe. Rivian aims to produce 200,000 R2 trucks during 2026 and will then seek to double that number as its next production goal, though a timeframe for that upgrade was not shared.

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Regarding the upcoming truck’s market position, sadly, Rivian remains secretive. However, the CFO noted that the new vehicle would aim to compete with other luxury volume sellers like the Tesla Model Y. With this information, many now anticipate the truck to start at around $40,000.

Finally, Rivian’s CFO pointed out that R2 aims to be both a volume seller and a global vehicle, meaning it will be available in numerous markets. Currently, Rivian has been supply constrained and hence, a strictly North American brand, but that may change in the near future, with Europe likely being the company’s next target.

Electric Delivery Van Announcements:

Despite Amazon’s recent announcement that it would be decreasing the number of vans it would be buying this year, Rivian remains entirely focused on the production ramp of its offering. One of Rivian’s top priorities has been the production of its Electric Delivery Van (EDV), which has been taking the streets of the United States by storm. Highlighting this focus, the company CFO noted that the van takes “enduro-motor” priority over the dual-motor R1 vehicles. Moreover, the van received two notable production upgrades in Q1 of this year, integrating the new motor and Rivian’s new LFP battery pack.

Other Announcements:

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Besides these amazing announcements on its most exciting products, Rivian also revealed updates coming to its Adventure Network charging infrastructure. To aid its rapid development, Rivian will now be looking to join the “Federal Charging Fund” in the United States, making it eligible to receive incentives from the federal government to place its charging network. However, as a result, Rivian will be forced to open its network to other EVs. Nonetheless, with the feds willing to put up as much as 80% of the cash required for installation, many would consider Rivian foolhardy to decline the offer.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

Will is an auto enthusiast, a gear head, and an EV enthusiast above all. From racing, to industry data, to the most advanced EV tech on earth, he now covers it at Teslarati.

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Giga Nevada celebrates production of 6 millionth drive unit

To celebrate the milestone, the Giga Nevada team gathered for a celebratory group photo. 

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Tesla’s Giga Nevada has reached an impressive milestone, producing its 6 millionth drive unit as 2925 came to a close.

To celebrate the milestone, the Giga Nevada team gathered for a celebratory group photo. 

6 million drive units

The achievement was shared by the official Tesla Manufacturing account on social media platform X. “Congratulations to the Giga Nevada team for producing their 6 millionth Drive Unit!” Tesla wrote. 

The photo showed numerous factory workers assembled on the production floor, proudly holding golden balloons that spelled out “6000000″ in front of drive unit assembly stations. Elon Musk gave credit to the Giga Nevada team, writing, “Congrats on 6M drive units!” in a post on X.

Giga Nevada’s essential role

Giga Nevada produces drive units, battery packs, and energy products. The facility has been a cornerstone of Tesla’s scaling since opening, and it was the crucial facility that ultimately enabled Tesla to ramp the Model 3 and Model Y. Even today, it serves as Tesla’s core hub for battery and drivetrain components for vehicles that are produced in the United States.

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Giga Nevada is expected to support Tesla’s ambitious 2026 targets, including the launch of vehicles like the Tesla Semi and the Cybercab. Tesla will have a very busy 2026, and based on Giga Nevada’s activities so far, it appears that the facility will be equally busy as well.

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Tesla Supercharger network delivers record 6.7 TWh in 2025

The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Supercharger Network had its biggest year ever in 2025, delivering a record 6.7 TWh of electricity to vehicles worldwide. 

To celebrate its busy year, the official @TeslaCharging account shared an infographic showing the Supercharger Network’s growth from near-zero in 2012 to this year’s impressive milestone.

Record 6.7 TWh delivered in 2025

The bar chart shows steady Supercharger energy delivery increases since 2012. Based on the graphic, the Supercharger Network started small in the mid-2010s and accelerated sharply after 2019, when the Model 3 was going mainstream. 

Each year from 2020 onward showed significantly more energy delivery, with 2025’s four quarters combining for the highest total yet at 6.7 TWh.

This energy powered millions of charging sessions across Tesla’s growing fleet of vehicles worldwide. The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets. This makes the Supercharger Network loved not just by Tesla owners but EV drivers as a whole.

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Resilience after Supercharger team changes

2025’s record energy delivery comes despite earlier 2024 layoffs on the Supercharger team, which sparked concerns about the system’s expansion pace. Max de Zegher, Tesla Director of Charging North America, also highlighted that “Outside China, Superchargers delivered more energy than all other fast chargers combined.”

Longtime Tesla owner and FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog noted the achievement as proof of continued momentum post-layoffs. At the time of the Supercharger team’s layoffs in 2024, numerous critics were claiming that Elon Musk was halting the network’s expansion altogether, and that the team only remained because the adults in the room convinced the juvenile CEO to relent.

Such a scenario, at least based on the graphic posted by the Tesla Charging team on X, seems highly implausible. 

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Tesla targets production increase at Giga Berlin in 2026

Plant manager André Thierig confirmed the facility’s stable outlook to the DPA, noting that Giga Berlin implemented no layoffs or shutdowns amid challenging market conditions.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is looking positively toward 2026 with plans for further growth at its Grünheide factory in Germany, following steady quarterly increases throughout 2025. 

Plant manager André Thierig confirmed the facility’s stable outlook to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), noting that Giga Berlin implemented no layoffs or shutdowns despite challenging market conditions. 

Giga Berlin’s steady progress

Thierig stated that Giga Berlin’s production actually rose in every quarter of 2025 as planned, stating: “This gives us a positive outlook for the new year, and we expect further growth.” The factory currently supplies over 30 markets, with Canada recently being added due to cost advantages.

Giga Berlin’s expansion is still underway, with the first partial approval for capacity growth being secured. Preparations for a second partial approval are underway, though the implementation of more production capacity would still depend on decisions from Tesla’s US leadership. 

Over the year, updates to Giga Berlin’s infrastructure were also initiated. These include the relocation of the Fangschleuse train station and the construction of a new road. Tesla is also planning to start battery cell production in Germany starting 2027, targeting up to 8 GWh annually.

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Resilience amid market challenges

Despite a 48% drop in German registrations, Tesla maintained Giga Berlin’s stability. Thierig highlighted this, stating that “We were able to secure jobs here and were never affected by production shutdowns or job cuts like other industrial sites in Germany.”

Thierig also spoke positively towards the German government’s plans to support households, especially those with low and middle incomes, in the purchase and leasing of electric vehicles this 2026. “In our opinion, it is important that the announcement is implemented very quickly so that consumers really know exactly what is coming and when,” the Giga Berlin manager noted. 

Giga Berlin currently employs around 11,000 workers, and it produces about 5,000 Model Y vehicles per week, as noted in an Ecomento report. The facility produces the Model Y Premium variants, the Model Y Standard, and the Model Y Performance. 

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