Kyle D 
As electrification becomes the new standard in the auto industry, EV start-ups like Rivian continue to find themselves in the headlines. According to an exclusive published by Reuters, the Michigan-turned-California based automaker is accepting bids for the location of its second assembly plant. The plan known as “Project Tera” looks at setting up a plant that will have a 50 gigawatt hour battery cell production and product/technology development center. It would also be net-zero emissions hopefully soon after opening. The facility would require an estimated 2,000 acres of land.
Rivian Is Expanding
As Rivian reportedly plans to expand its American manufacturing footprint for upcoming vehicles, it has closed on an additional $2.5 Billion dollars in funding led by Amazon and Ford Motor Company. These two major strategic partners already have current or former projects with the start-up.
Rivian’s momentum also plays in stark contrast to other startup electric vehicle automakers, including Ohio’s Lordstown Motors, which have either been struggling to get products to market, securing funding, observing massive stock selloffs, or a combination of the three.
R1T And R1S Delays
Much like the rest of the auto industry, Rivian has been hit with setbacks due to the global chip shortage as well as construction/equipment installation delays at the company’s existing Normal, Illinois plant. These delays have pushed the launch of fhe R1T pickup truck back to September 2021, instead of July 2021, according to an email for Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scrainge to customers. The Rivian R1S electric SUV will launch “shortly thereafter,” per Scaringe.
However, things are far from doom and gloom over at Rivian. The company currently enjoys a valuation of over $50 billion USD, and has announced plans to install Waypoint Level 2 charging stations in each of Tennessee’s beautiful 56 state parks.
This partnership with Tennessee comes after Rivian made a deal with the Colorado Park and WIldlife department that at least 2 Waypoint chargers in all 42 of Colorado’s state parks, with construction on the first charging station being completed in the next month. The company also has similar deals in West Virginia, Missouri and South Carolina.
The plans and proposals for where the new plant will be located will be released over the next coming months with ground breaking scheduled to beginning next year.
