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EXCLUSIVE: ‘Rivian wanted what Georgia had’: How the Peach State became Rivian’s $5B match
In the Northern portion of Georgia, about 45 miles East of Atlanta, a 2,000-acre slice of land is covered in beautiful trees, hosting stunning landscapes of the rural sections of the Peach State. For several years, Georgia Economic Development Department Commissioner Pat Wilson has pitched this massive piece of beautiful real estate to various automakers, with nobody willing to bring another massive vehicle manufacturing facility to the heart of the Southeastern United States. That was until Rivian came to town.
“It was the perfect company for the perfect site.”
“We considered making it an OEM site,” Wilson, who has been the Commissioner of the State of Georgia’s Economic Development Department since November 2016, told Teslarati in an exclusive interview. He showed the property to Volvo and Toyota/Mazda, among others, over the past few years, but could not come to terms with them on the land. These large-scale, mass-market automakers were unwilling to join Kia, which has a massive $1.8 billion, 2.2 million square foot factory just miles away from the Georgia-Alabama border, to bring a sizeable manufacturing plant to Georgia. It just was not the right fit.
The right fit would eventually come along. While sifting through requests from various companies who were interested in the site and ultimately coming up with no buyers, Wilson knew the right company would eventually show up to build on the land. It would not end up being a car company with a long-standing history of successful automotive manufacturing. Instead, a company known as Rivian Automotive, which just rolled its first production units off of an assembly line in Normal, Illinois, and completed its first deliveries earlier this year, was requesting information. It would end up being the peach Georgia needed to secure its single most significant investment in state history — $5 billion, to be exact. “It was the perfect company for the perfect site,” Wilson said. “Rivian wanted what Georgia had.”
Rivian will build its next EV manufacturing plant in Georgia
CEO RJ Scaringe eventually drove around the 2,000-acre site in a Rivian R1T, plotting ideas and envisioning his young and scrappy company’s second U.S.-located automotive assembly plant. It is a beautiful landscape, and it needed to be preserved. “RJ was genuinely concerned about keeping the area environmentally stable. ” Wilson said. “You only have to look at their website and read a little bit of it to see that this is a company that cares about the world and sustainability. It was important to him to keep the area in its beautiful state.”
“RJ was genuinely concerned about keeping the area environmentally stable…It was important to him to keep the area in its beautiful state.”
Rivian wanted a property with a beautiful landscape, and Wilson said the company wanted to preserve its beauty and integrate its future automotive facility into the topography, which will hit its expected employment of 7,500 people in 2028. It also did not intrude on locals or nearby residents, who gave their blessing for the Economic Development Department to offer the area to large industries. “We don’t propose sites unless we are invited to do so,” Wilson clarified. Citizens welcomed projects with open arms, which solved half of the issue. The next was selling Rivian on the idea.
Selling Scaringe: Lofty Expectations
Rivian undoubtedly had its reservations, and its elevated expectations and accelerated timeline scared off plenty of other regions that were in the running for “Project Terra.” Like other high-tech electric vehicle startups, Rivian had lofty goals to begin production shortly after construction starts. Other states and areas might not have been as willing or able as Georgia to commit to the quick turnaround Rivian and Scaringe had described. Construction will begin in Georgia in Summer 2022, with production lines ramping up in 2024. Rivian hopes to have one of its non-negotiable terms met by launching production around two years after construction crews break ground. Evidently, Speed to Market was a real need for Rivian, and it needed the right State and the right team to make it happen.
CEO & Founder of Rivian, RJ Scaringe (Photo: Rivian)
Speed and efficiency of the construction process was not the only advantage Rivian saw with the site, however. The 2,000-acre land plot that the company locked up and subsequently announced during the company’s first quarterly earnings call as a publicly-traded entity last week also has a great location that could alleviate potential supply chain concerns. Sitting in the Interstate 20 corridor, the plant will have easy access to the Port of Savannah and the State’s 5,000 miles of railway to deliver manufacturing materials quickly. This solved logistical concerns relatively quickly.
There were other concerns too, however. Georgia has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the United States, which sounds like a good thing. Department of Labor statistics listed Georgia’s unemployment rate at just 2.8% for November 2021, the fourth-lowest rate federally, following Nebraska (1.8%), Utah (2.1%), and Oklahoma (2.5%). Interestingly and nearly counterintuitively, a low unemployment rate could actually bring some large-scale companies with sizeable employment needs problems down the road, and Rivian knew that Georgia had a reputation for keeping its people employed. Governor Brian Kemp kept the State’s workforce relatively operational through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. “He created structure for the State,” which ultimately kept Georgia’s people at work, eliminating widespread unemployment and furloughs, Wilson said.
Georgia committed to Rivian’s needs and essentially removed its concerns regarding employment by securing plans for a Quick Start workforce training program facility at the future automotive plant. Quick Start is a State-sponsored program created in 1967 that provides customized workforce training for expanding industries. It runs through the Georgia Technical College System and gives workers free, hands-on, in-depth training that contributes to the state’s economy. Wilson said the program essentially lets taxpayer dollars be funded back into local communities through job training. It keeps people at work, it invests back into the citizens of the State, and most importantly, it prepares them for the job they are about to start. It is a highly successful and proven program that resulted in the first car ever built at the Kia Factory in West Point being fully operational. This is an event that does not happen often, as most vehicles that roll off of production lines as prototypes in a facility’s early days are usually a result of training and are not close to production quality.
Quick Start does more than give employees comprehensive, hands-on training. It also gives Georgians the opportunity to stay in their communities and develop them. Wilson was adamant that the Quick Start program has retained indescribable amounts of talent in Georgia, keeping the State’s workforce and some of its most brilliant minds local. “It gives people a chance to help their communities, but it keeps Georgia talent in Georgia. It benefits the taxpayers because we are investing back into our people,” Wilson added.
While Rivian’s project is the most recent to enter Georgia, Wilson certainly hopes it is not the last. “I hope more EV makers come to our State,” he said. “There will be more change in the automotive industry in the next ten years than there was in the last 100. These are jobs for the future, and we are looking for them because it is generational for the State. These plants will create jobs 60 years down the road.”
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Tesla has introduced an enhanced visualization in its Supercharger navigation system, building directly on the Site Maps feature rolled out a few months ago.
This latest software update adds detailed 3D icons that represent specific vehicle models parked at charging stalls, offering drivers a more precise view of site occupancy and layout.
The Site Maps debuted in Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update, providing 3D overviews of select Supercharger locations with real-time stall availability.
Tesla supplements Holiday Update by sneaking in new Full Self-Driving version
Drivers could see which spots were open, occupied, or out of service when navigating to supported stations.
Now, the system takes this capability further by rendering accurate representations of Tesla vehicles, including distinctions between models such as the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck. These icons appear as lifelike 3D renderings, complete with recognizable shapes and proportions that match the actual cars charging at the site:
Supercharger update now shows type of Tesla at charger as well.
Pretty cool. pic.twitter.com/J3NRSIgM0m
— DennisCW | wen my L (@DennisCW_) June 2, 2026
This refinement improves the user experience during road trips and daily charging stops. As drivers approach a Supercharger, the navigation display now shows not just generic occupied markers but identifiable vehicle types plugged into each stall.
Blue indicators highlight active charging sessions, while other visual cues denote availability or maintenance status. The feature integrates seamlessly with the existing map interface, allowing quick assessment of the best available spot based on vehicle size and positioning.
Tesla continues to expand the availability of these detailed Site Maps across its global network. Initially piloted at a limited number of locations, the rollout has progressed steadily, with more stations gaining support in recent software versions.
Owners benefit from better planning, as the system helps identify compatible stalls and reduces uncertainty upon arrival. The update reflects Tesla’s ongoing commitment to refining its navigation and charging ecosystem through iterative software improvements.
In addition to model-specific icons, the enhanced maps maintain all prior functionalities, such as integration with nearby amenities and energy usage predictions. This ensures a comprehensive tool for efficient Supercharging.
As Tesla’s fleet grows and the network scales, such features play a key role in optimizing the overall ownership experience. Future updates may extend similar visualizations to additional sites and incorporate even more data points for drivers.
With this piggyback enhancement, Tesla demonstrates how small but thoughtful additions can elevate an already useful tool, making Supercharger visits smoother and more informed for its customers. The company is expected to broaden the feature’s reach in upcoming releases, further solidifying its leadership in EV charging infrastructure.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.3 driver monitoring was reportedly scaled back in recent releases, but a new version that was released in the early hours of June 3 aimed to do a better job of keeping those in control of their cars honest, according to release notes.
The release notes for FSD v14.3.3, via Software Version 2026.14.6.7 added:
“Improved driver monitoring system sensitivity with better eye gaze tracking, eye wear handling, and higher accuracy in variable lighting conditions.”
However, Tesla said this was already enabled in the first rollout of FSD v14.3.3 in late May. We tested it anyway, especially as the Standard Speed Profile seemed less-than-worried about what you were doing during operation.
I decided to try out the Hurry and Mad Max Speed Profiles for this test, and it gave me results that I would have expected. Tesla has evidently ramped up driver monitoring based on the Speed Profile you are using to travel.
The more aggressive the Speed Profile, the more on the hook you will be for taking your attention away from the road. Our testing showed that Mad Max was less likely to allow you to do normal things like change music or adjust navigation without getting an on-screen warning or nag from the driver monitoring system.
Hurry Mode Results
On Hurry, the driver monitoring system on FSD v14.3.3, via Software Version 2026.14.6.7, was more restrictive than Standard but less restrictive than Mad Max. I found that I could scroll through music options for a considerable amount of time, more than 30 seconds:
Roughly :31 between first touching the center screen and getting the first nag
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 3, 2026
Standard gave me about 80 seconds of phone scrolling with absolutely no nags or warnings in a previous test. It is worth noting that this was a previous branch of v14.3.3, but Standard is such a goodie-two-shoes on the road that it is my impression it would not change much.
Here’s an 80-second phone nag test on Tesla FSD v14.3.3.
No alerts, no nagging, no annoyance. https://t.co/1dxvTOw5Cn pic.twitter.com/vYViFpjfoK
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) May 29, 2026
Mad Max Results
I spent the majority of the drive on Mad Max to see how it truly reacted to the driver having their attention elsewhere. While I did do a short phone test, I am aiming to steer away from those and use the center screen. I think it is a valid criticism that the phone test is dangerous and, not to mention, illegal in Pennsylvania. Changing the navigation and music is a more reasonable, more responsible, and safer test.
With Mad Max being the fastest and most aggressive Speed Profile, I anticipated this being the quickest mode to give me an alert that I needed to look at the road. That was the case with music:
🎥 Testing Tesla FSD v14.3.3 (via 2026.14.6.7) nags on Mad Max https://t.co/qZALU2OujY pic.twitter.com/XddOJ0D47x
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 3, 2026
As well as adjusting Navigation, when I received two nags:
🎥 Testing Tesla FSD v14.3.3 (via 2026.14.6.7) nag while adjusting navigation
Two nags here https://t.co/qZALU2OujY pic.twitter.com/xa3dtaDG1L
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 3, 2026
These nags were more than reasonable, and I think it’s probably good that Tesla is ramping up the driver monitoring. I do believe that it should be relatively strict across all of the Speed Profiles, especially with phone use. When using the center screen, the nag intervals should be based on the speed profile you are utilizing at the time.
These driver monitoring adjustments are a great thing to have while FSD is still under its “Supervised” moniker, but I expect Tesla to continue pushing the limits on what it will allow, especially considering CEO Elon Musk has hinted that phone use is capable with the more recent versions.
You can watch the full drive on YouTube below:
Tesla has responded to the skeptics of its Robotaxi program by launching a massive expansion of the unsupervised program in its initial rollout city of Austin.
The company’s geofence, the enabled area of operation for rides, now covers the entire Austin Metropolitan area, an incredible move just days after media headlines attempted to discredit the ride-hailing service.
Those who have access to the Tesla Robotaxi app on their smartphones can now request a ride in any portion of the Austin Metro area. The company confirmed this on the social media platform X:
Unsupervised Robotaxi now in the entire Austin Metro area https://t.co/eXNBdarvVS
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) June 3, 2026
This is Tesla’s fifth expansion of the geofence, with the others occurring in July, early August, late August, and late October 2025. It has remained at that size since October 26, but Tesla has now more than doubled that size.
It is now covering the entire area, including suburbs like Pflugerville and Manor, as well as I-35 highways, Gigafactory Texas, and the Austin-Bergstrom Airport.
The move comes just days after various media outlets highlighted the small fleet size of Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet in Austin, something that is a reasonable criticism but an understandable move on the company’s part to prioritize safety.
Tesla has expanded its Robotaxi geofence many times, but its fleet has remained at a relatively conservative size as the company continues to push safety as its most crucial metric.
The latest expansion is a key indicator of Tesla’s comfort level to expand the ride-hailing service. The move shows Tesla is scaling unsupervised autonomy, as it demonstrates that the company’s Full Self-Driving system has reached sufficient reliability for a broader real-world deployment, which is something the company has worked on extensively.
It also shows Tesla is game for a competition with its rivals in the autonomous ride-hailing sector. Tesla has often matched or exceeded competitors like Waymo in coverage area, despite its smaller fleet. This step highlights Tesla’s iterative, data-driven progress toward a high-margin, app-based Robotaxi network.
It’s not the absolute largest area expansion ever, but achieving full unsupervised operations across a major metro is a key moment in the Robotaxi story. It shifts the program from limited pilot/testing toward a more mature commercial service, while gathering the miles needed for faster growth.
Tesla piggybacks recent Supercharger feature with update that takes it further
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.3 driver monitoring: We tested it
