Rivian's New Problem May Be a Good Problem, But It's Still A Challenge

Growth is a good problem, but it leads to challenges.

If all of the recent positive news surrounding EV startup Rivian Automotive comes true, we’re no longer looking at a niche automaker that only makes $100,000 adventure vehicles.

Thus far, the only official vehicles that Rivian has unveiled include the R1T all-electric pickup truck and R1S three-row SUV. Both vehicles are clearly high-end offerings. Of course, further down the road, the company plans to make other vehicles, but we’re not quite sure where they’ll fit in the grand scheme of things.

Fast-forward to recent news and now Rivian will be manufacturing 100,000 electric delivery trucks for Amazon. Not to mention at least one vehicle in partnership with Ford. The startup automaker also recently accepted a sizable investment from Cox Automotive.

If it looked as though Rivian might not make it to the finish line early on, the skepticism certainly fades when you factor in all of the investments and positive news. However, while transitioning from a niche, luxury EV maker to a large-scale outfit overnight is fantastic, it welcomes some potential problems. 

The above statement would be true of any company with the potential to suddenly grow exponentially. But, it’s arguably a larger problem for companies making electric cars. Batteries are expensive and in short supply.

Some people have already voiced concerns that Rivian won’t be able to get enough of the large battery packs for its R1T and R1S vehicles. Now toss in 100,000 Amazon delivery trucks. How will the automaker pull it off?

Our good friend Sean Mitchell provides some interesting analysis. Check out the video and then leave us your thoughts in the comment section below.

Video Description via Sean Mitchell (AllThingsEV) on YouTube:

Rivian’s new problem

After Amazon announced the purchase of 100,000 electric transit vehicles made by Rivian, it dawned on me that Rivian new problem – a good problem.

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