With Detroit-based Rivian Automotive stepping into the limelight, the electric car maker has seen itself being compared to Silicon Valley-based Tesla, a first mover in the EV market. Over the following week, Rivian and its CEO, RJ Scaringe, has been dubbed as several things, among them being “Tesla’s worst nightmare.” This is a flawed assumption.
Rivian emerged from the shadows late last year, surprising the auto industry by revealing two production-ready vehicles that feature the best that electric cars can offer — instant power, luxury, and a killer design. With this in mind, it is not surprising that the company is perceived with optimism by Wall Street and potential investors. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, for one, noted that Tesla’s dominance in the US EV market could be “unsustainable” as it faces “serious competition” from Rivian, considering the younger company’s “access to talent and capital” and its focus on the “fastest growing segments of pickup trucks & SUVs.”
Yesterday, reports also emerged that high-profile investors such as GM and Amazon are in talks to invest in Rivian. Provided that the reports are accurate, Reuters noted that Rivian’s valuation would rise to between $1 to $2 billion once the deal goes through. That’s incredibly impressive for the electric car maker, and it bodes well for the EV industry in general as it provides much-needed funds for the development of clean transportation. What it does not do is prove that Tesla will run into trouble because of Rivian’s upcoming and seemingly inevitable rise.
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils the Tesla Semi. (Credit: Tesla)
- The Rivian R1T and R1S take center stage at the 2018 LA Autoshow
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe both aim to rid the world of fossil fuels.
While rivalries present a compelling narrative, it is difficult to paint Tesla and Rivian as rivals trying to beat each other without compromising each company’s character. Tesla’s Elon Musk, for one, has always encouraged the development of more electric cars. In a recent tweet late last month, Musk noted that it is “exciting to see all the new electric vehicles coming to market,” referring to a report of other EVs set to debut in the coming years. In a later post, Musk added that Tesla’s true competition is not new electric vehicles, but rather, the “enormous flood of gasoline cars pouring out of the world’s factories every day.”
In his most recent 60 Minutes segment, Musk went so far as to state that “if somebody comes and makes a better electric car than Tesla, and it’s so much better than ours that we can’t sell our cars, and we go bankrupt, I still think that’s a good thing for the world.” It remains unknown if Elon Musk could ultimately put his foot where his mouth is, but considering his statements so far, he definitely appears to be fully supportive of other electric car makers, including Rivian.
Rivian, for its part, has never given an indication that it is going after Tesla. The electric car maker has established since the reveal of its first truck that it is dedicating itself to the production of luxury adventure vehicles (at least for now) with zero compromises. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has also been pretty open about his opinion of Tesla. During a fireside chat at the Automotive News World Congress last month, Scaringe credited Tesla for disproving “untruths” about electric vehicles. Simply put, everything that Rivian has done so far indicates that it acknowledges Tesla, and it is fully onboard with the company’s mission of accelerating the advent of sustainable energy.
Mainstream media loves pitting companies, products, and people against each other — Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox, Celebrity A and Celebrity B, the list is endless. In the case of Tesla and Rivian and their CEOs, this idea does not seem to line up very well. In their respective segments alone, the companies should not be compared, considering that Tesla is pursuing the mainstream market with the Model 3 and the upcoming Model Y, while Rivian is focusing on the luxury adventure sphere with the R1T and R1S. Until Tesla releases its own pickup truck, then the two electric car makers are best seen as allies in the transition away from fossil fuels — not rivals attempting to overpower each other.

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Tesla and Arevon team up on 172-Megapack solar plus project
One of Tesla’s largest Megapack sites, the Arevon Eland solar project is supported by an impressive 1.2GWh of Megapacks.

Tesla and partner Arevon have completed the second phase of an energy storage site in Southern California, as highlighted in a short video shared this week.
On Monday, Tesla’s Megapack account on X posted a brief video on the Kern County, California “Eland” storage site, which was recently expanded to offer 300MW/1.2GWh of Megapacks supporting 758MW of solar. The so-called “Eland Solar-plus-Storage Project” site now features 172 Megapack units and 1.36 million solar panels, which the companies have previously said is roughly enough to power 200,000 homes annually.
In the video, Tesla also notes that the facility has site-level controls to regulate power output, “providing a firm resource to the grid,” and supporting the Los Angeles climate goal of reaching 100-percent renewable electricity by 2035. You can check out the clip below.
758 MW of solar supported by 1.2 GWh of Megapack at Arevon’s site in Kern County, California pic.twitter.com/HTP92uYVIP
— Tesla Megapack (@Tesla_Megapack) March 17, 2025
READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapack project in California housed in former steam plant
Arevon announced the official start of operations for Eland 1 in December with 150MW/600 MWh, and the Eland 2 phase has effectively doubled this. The company also appears to be on track for its targeted opening of Eland 2 in Q1 this year, though it’s not clear at the time of writing if Arevon has yet announced a start of operations for the second phase.
Last February, Arevon announced that it secured a $1.1 billion financial commitment for the remaining parts of the Eland 2 Solar-plus-Storage project, together with Eland 1 becoming one of the largest solar-plus-storage installations in the U.S. The projects also include a long-term purchase agreement from the Southern California Public Power Authority, which plans to facilitate contracts for the LA Department of Water and Power and Glendale Water and Power.
Tesla’s grid-scale Megapack batteries can store and deploy generated energy to the electrical grid, especially during periods of peak power usage, high demand, or outages. Coupled with solar or other energy sources in these kinds of solar-plus-storage sites, Tesla’s Megapacks can help support renewable energy for long periods of time, or at least add stability to the grid.
Over the past couple of years, Tesla has been deploying large-scale Megapack projects in markets around the world, as backed by an initial production facility in Lathrop, California. This “Megafactory” aims to eventually produce 10,000 Megapack units, or 40 GWh, per year, and it has been ramping up production since late 2022.
In November, the Lathrop Megafactory officially produced its 10,000th Megapack, and Tesla also started production at a second Megapack plant in Shanghai, China last month, after starting construction on the site last May. The Shanghai Megafactory is also expected to have a volume annual production of 10,000 units per year.
Additionally, Tesla has teased plans for a third Megafactory, though it has yet to disclose where such a facility would be built.
Tesla’s massive Megapack site near Melbourne is almost ready
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Tesla reveals Cybercab battery pack and range efficiency
Tesla aims to make the Cybercab the most efficient EV available, as executives revealed in an interview this week.

Two of the top Tesla executives recently spoke about the Cybercab in an interview with a longtime manufacturing industry expert, sharing details about the electric vehicle’s (EV’s) battery pack size, range, and more.
On Monday, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy and Senior Design Executive Franz von Holzhausen told manufacturing industry veteran Sandy Munro that Tesla is targeting a battery pack of under 50kWh for the Cybercab, with “close to” 300 miles of real-world range. This would make the two-seater more efficient than any other EV currently in production, partially due to the two-seater’s highly-aerodynamic design.
Munro says he was expecting a battery pack ranging from 55kWh to 60 kWh, noting how much smaller Tesla is aiming to go. Before revealing the range targets, Moravy also detailed how the Cybercab’s aero wheel covers offer optimal aerodynamics to contribute to the impressive efficiency level.
“As much as Franz hates door handles, I hate the wheel-tire interaction, and this is really the best way for us to get the most aerodynamic wheel-tire we could get,” Moravy explains.
From the wheel covers to the overall design, however, von Holzhausen explains how much thought has gone into making the vehicle so efficient—even down to its shape.
“This car is actually really unique in terms of its teardrop shape,” von Holzhausen said. “It’s actually quite narrow in the rear compared to the front. Obviously, you covered the discs, but the aero efficiency is a huge factor in getting to higher range with a smaller battery pack.”
The fact that the vehicle only has two seats also contributes to some of the design choices Tesla was able to implement, as the executive continues to explain.
“Really, because it’s a two-seater we were able to really narrow the hips on this car, and when you come to the rear, you actually start to see how narrow it is, but it’s not unattractive,” he adds.

Credit: Tesla | X
🚨 Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, says the Cybercab is not “painted” and they developed a new process where the polyurethane paint is injected into the panel at the same time as manufacturing
(via Ride the Lightning podcast) pic.twitter.com/5g7vjdOpNn
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 23, 2025
READ MORE ON TESLA CYBERCAB: Tesla reveals design inspiration behind Cybercab’s gold color
Moravy reiterates that Tesla is already starting to install production equipment for the Cybercab at Gigafactory Texas, which was revealed in a shareholder’s letter in late January. He also echoes plans that Tesla is aiming for prototype builds for the Cybercab by this summer, along with a launch event around early 2026.
In recent weeks, increasing numbers of Cybercabs have also been seen testing at Giga Texas, and longtime drone pilot and factory observer Joe Tegtmeyer said that he saw as many as six driving around the site on Monday.
Last month, Moravy also alluded to plans to make the Cybercab “road-trip-capable,” going long distances with wireless charging along the way to make it completely autonomous for passengers.
Along with talking about the Cybercab’s super-efficient design, the two executives also reiterate discussions about the art deco-inspired design of the robotaxi and the larger Robovan, both of which were unveiled in an event in October. Munro and the executives also go on to sit inside the Robovan while talking a bit about its design.
You can see footage from Teslarati‘s first full ride in the Cybercab below, as captured at the “We, Robot” event in Southern California. Or, check out the full Cybercab and Robovan episode from Munro, Moravy, and von Holzhausen below that, clocking in at just under 25 minutes.
🎥: Our FULL first ride in the @Tesla Cybercab pic.twitter.com/6gR7OgKRCz
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 11, 2024
Tesla says its Cybercab wireless charging efficiency is ‘well above 90%’
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SpaceX rescue mission for stranded ISS astronauts nears end — Here’s when they’ll return home

SpaceX is ready to bring home Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the two astronauts that have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months.
Last week, SpaceX launched its Crew-10 mission, which would dock onto the ISS late Saturday night and be the two astronauts’ ride home. Now, the end is in sight, and it appears both NASA and SpaceX are planning to have the two home this week, perhaps earlier than expected.
SpaceX readies to rescue astronauts from International Space Station
The agency and the company have announced that Dragon will autonomously undock from the ISS on Tuesday at 1:05 a.m. ET and should re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and splashdown off the Florida coast about 17 hours later.
SpaceX said:
“SpaceX and NASA are targeting Tuesday, March 18 at 1:05 a.m. ET for Dragon to autonomously undock from the International Space Station. After performing a series of departure burns to move away from the space station, Dragon will conduct multiple orbit-lowering maneuvers, jettison the trunk, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere for splashdown off the coast of Florida approximately 17 hours later the same day.”
Crew-9 astronaut Nick Hague will be alongside Williams and Wilmore on the flight home, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Hague and Gorbunov have been in space since Saturday, September 28.
SpaceX was tasked with bringing Wilmore and Williams home after the Boeing Starliner that sent them there was determined not to be suitable for their return.
A report from the New York Post in late August said that Boeing employees routinely made fun of SpaceX workers, only for the company to bail them out:
SpaceX bails out Boeing and employees are reportedly ‘humiliated’
Crew-10 will bring the astronauts home, ending an extensive and unscheduled stay in space.
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