It has a falling out with Tesla, stops supporting CarPlay, but works with Volkswagen and the US government. Car brand Rivian is borrowing $6.6 billion from the US government to build its own factory in Georgia.
The U.S. Department of Energy is lending Rivian the money to build electric cars in Georgia. The reason that this loan is still being provided quickly has everything to do with the new president. Donald Trump is less interested in climate solutions than the current administration, which means that the loan would have a smaller chance of success during his term of office.
New factory for Rivian
Trump has already promised to reverse many of the Biden administration’s investments in electric vehicles. One of his showpieces in that area will be the repeal of a $7,500 tax break on new electric cars. The loan that Rivian receives is part of a program that Trump also wants to abolish. A program that saved the then ailing Tesla in 2009.
Rivian has wanted to build an additional factory for a long time, but put this on hold. Not only for financial reasons, but also because it wanted to release its new R2 car earlier. Rivian is still not doing well when it comes to money. It lost $1.1 billion in the last quarter. Partly due to these financial problems, there have already been several rounds of layoffs. It now hopes the Georgia plant will expand Rivian’s fleet and fully assemble the brand’s R2 and R3. It will take a long time before this production location opens its doors: the expectation is in 2028.
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Source: www.bright.nl
