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.
Rivian’s CFO revealed a TON of important information via BofA Securities Summit: $RIVN ?#Rivian @Rivian @RJScaringe
• Rivian anticipates achieving a POSITIVE gross profit by H2 of 2024
• Rivian is aiming to build 85K R1s in 2024.
• R2 production capacity will be 200K units… pic.twitter.com/YZiyz02aUN
— Rivian Updates (@rivianupdates) April 7, 2023
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.
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.
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:
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.
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The Tesla Cybercab got a huge nod of support from a Texas Department of Transportation official, who said the all-electric ride-hailing vehicle is “a tangible example of how quickly our transportation system is evolving.”
The Cybercab was present at the Texas Department of Transportation’s Texas Innovation Invitational, an event held each year that allows innovative companies to showcase advancements in transportation.
Tesla Cybercab specs revealed: range, curb weight, range ratings, and more
Marc Williams, the Texas Department of Transportation’s Executive Director, sat in a Cybercab and shared his thoughts in an extensive post on LinkedIn.
Williams’s comments show how Tesla, with its Cybercab, is leading the charge of passenger travel and how it’s changing so rapidly. He notes the absence of traditional driving controls as a telltale sign that the Cybercab is a catalyst for major automotive change, taking controls from drivers and turning them into full-time passengers.
“Observing this vehicle firsthand–from its design and butterfly doors to the cargo trunk configuration–provides a tangible example of how quickly our transportation system is evolving. Sitting inside the cabin, the complete absence of traditional driver controls underscores a significant shift in mobility and vehicle design. No steering wheel, no accelerator, no brake. Only a single touchscreen monitor.”
Tesla has had a great relationship with the State of Texas, especially with its Robotaxi ambitions. Currently, Texas has Tesla Robotaxi operating in multiple cities: Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. The company’s main manufacturing plant is also located just outside Austin, and Tesla moved its headquarters to the state several years ago.
Texas DOT Executive Director Marc Williams experienced the production version of @Tesla CyberCab firsthand earlier today at the 2026 Texas Innovation Invitational #CyberCab #FSD @SawyerMerritt @TeslaNewswire pic.twitter.com/izoGOWaGz6
— Ash_Alpha (@durai_ashwin08) June 17, 2026
The Cybercab is a purpose-built, fully autonomous, two-passenger Robotaxi vehicle designed specifically for ride-hailing services. Tesla has said for years it would be built without a steering wheel or pedals present, although there is still quite a bit of debate among the community regarding that potential.
Earlier this week, we received official word that the EPA had provided the Cybercab with a Certificate of Conformity, giving Tesla permission to enter the vehicle into the chain of public commerce. It is officially ready for roads.
The big question for Tesla remains: Can it solve self-driving before the steering-wheel-less Cybercab officially enters production?
Elon Musk
The Boring Company just doubled its tunneling power in Nashville
The Boring Company’s Prufrock MB2 is commissioned and ready to mine beneath Nashville’s streets.
The Boring Company’s second tunnel boring machine, Prufrock MB2, is officially ready to dig in Nashville. The company confirmed the news on X, posting: “Prufrock-MB2 is ready to mine in Nashville! MB2 commissioning is complete, including the brief 11 rpm rotation shown here. Will MB2 catch up to MB1, who had quite the head start? And Prufrock-MB3 ships in August!”
MB2 arrives with meaningful improvements over its predecessor. Lessons learned from the launch and operation of MB1 have already been applied to MB2 to improve efficiency and prepare the machine for launch.
Traditional tunnel boring machines operate in a stop-and-go cycle, digging roughly five feet, halt, erect precast concrete segments to line the tunnel wall, then resume. That repeated interruption is one of the main reasons conventional tunneling is slow and expensive. Prufrock is designed to install the tunnel liner simultaneously with mining, eliminating the need to stop every five feet. The machine also skips the need for excavated launch pits. Prufrock arrives on a truck, tilts down, and launches into the ground within 24 hours. And when the tunnel is complete, it emerges from the ground and drives to its next launch site on a trailer, eliminating the need for expensive cranes or pit excavation. The machine is also fully electric and runs with zero people in the tunnel during normal operations, controlled remotely from a surface operations center.
Prufrock-MB2 is ready to mine in Nashville! MB2 commissioning is complete, including the brief 11 rpm rotation shown here.
Will MB2 catch up to MB1, who had quite the head start?
And Prufrock-MB3 ships in August! pic.twitter.com/TTrMql2aRg
— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) June 17, 2026
It won’t be long before we hear of another major update on The Boring Company’s Music City Loop project – a planned underground transit network beneath Nashville that would move passengers in electric vehicles through a series of tunnels at highway speeds, and bypassing surface traffic entirely. Nashville was selected in part because of its strong rock conditions that suits the Prufrock machines well, and relatively less regulatory hurdles.
Progress has been steady on multiple fronts. All 37 permits and approvals required ahead of tunneling have been obtained, out of 45 total. Key wins include a fully executed TDOT tunnel permit authorizing 25 miles of tunnel, unanimous airport authority approval for a Nashville International Airport station, and the city’s first residential station agreement serving downtown tower residents.
With MB1 already tunneling, MB2 now commissioned, and MB3 shipping in August, Nashville is becoming something of a live proving ground for scaled tunnel boring. The broader ambition is not limited to one city. The Boring Company’s stated goal is to make underground transportation a practical alternative to surface roads across major metro areas. Nashville is one of many cities, including a successful Las Vegas tunnel system, where that idea is being put to the test at real speed.
Tesla has launched a direct campaign targeting its customers in New Jersey, sending emails that warn of pending legislation that could effectively block true driverless technology in the state.
The email focuses on Senate Bill S.1677 and Assembly Bill A.3968, measures intended to create a three-year autonomous vehicle pilot program but laden with requirements that Tesla argues make unsupervised Robotaxis impossible.
Tesla is sending out this email to New Jersey Tesla owners, warning them that NJ could block autonomous vehicles, and to take action.
“Proposed legislation moving through Trenton right now would impose restrictions so severe that true driverless deployment would remain illegal.… pic.twitter.com/2bmY646AUL
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 16, 2026
According to the email, the bills impose “restrictions so severe that true driverless deployment would remain illegal.” Specific hurdles include mandates for human safety drivers during operations, multimillion-dollar insurance minimums, reportedly $5 million, and thresholds like 100,000 miles of demonstrated safe autonomous driving before any driverless approval.
Tesla contends these are arbitrary barriers that ignore real-world performance data and favor entrenched competitors over innovative technologies like its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system.
The push comes as Tesla has started expanding Robotaxi operations in states like Texas, where unsupervised vehicles are already providing rides in several cities. New Jersey, by contrast, risks falling behind. The company highlights in the email communication that more than 94 percent of serious crashes result from human error, meaning impairment, distraction, or fatigue. These are all problems that Robotaxis eliminate entirely.
In 2025, New Jersey recorded 582 traffic deaths, underscoring the human cost of delayed adoption.
Tesla’s outreach stresses the transformative potential of robotaxis. For families, they could offer safer school runs without drowsy or distracted drivers. For seniors and people with disabilities, robotaxis promise independence and reliable mobility.
In areas with limited public transit, they could deliver affordable, on-demand transportation, reducing congestion, emissions, and overall transportation costs. Economically, the company warns that restrictive rules could cost New Jersey jobs, innovation investment, and billions in potential growth as autonomous ride-hailing scales elsewhere.
Supporters of the legislation, including Sen. Andrew Zwicker, describe the pilot as a cautious framework with strong safety oversight, including incident reporting, expert task forces, and restrictions in sensitive zones like school areas. They view it as balancing innovation with public protection.
Tesla and pro-AV advocates counter that the bill lacks technology neutrality, creates insurmountable entry barriers for commercial deployment, and prioritizes process over outcomes — effectively functioning as a de facto ban on services like Robotaxi.
This latest clash echoes Tesla’s past battles in New Jersey over direct vehicle sales. The email directs owners to Tesla’s advocacy platform, where they can send customized messages to legislators calling for amendments: outcome-based safety standards, open competition, and clear pathways for fully driverless commercial operations.
As hearings approach, Tesla’s campaign frames the issue as a choice between protecting the status quo and embracing life-saving progress. With robotaxi technology already proving itself in permissive states, New Jersey owners are being asked to ensure their state doesn’t lock out the future of transportation.
Tesla Cybercab gets huge nod of support from Texas DOT official
The Boring Company just doubled its tunneling power in Nashville
