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| The part of the R1T (Rivian can really get a better name!) all other bakkies will see in a race. |
The first all-electric Rivian bakkies rolled off the assembly line on Tuesday in Normal, Illinois.
Rivian, which started in 2009 as Mainstream Motors before adopting the Rivian name in 2011, has seen exponential growth in terms of people, backers and partners, such as Amazon and Ford, in the past few years. When it first revealed the two electric vehicles in 2018, Rivian had about 600 employees.
Today, it has 8 000, with facilities in Palo Alto and Irvine, California; and Plymouth, Michigan; and an office in the U.K.
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| Rivian CEO 'RJ' Scaringe. |
The Rivian bakkies coming off line in September (pictured) is in keeping with a letter by Rivian CEO, automotive engineer Rivian Robert Joseph “RJ” Scaringe, who said in a letter to customers back in June that R1T deliveries would begin this month, with the Rivian SUV to follow “shortly.”
Unlike other “alternative” car builders in the U.S., like Elon Musk, who promises in haste and then delivers late, or trike builder Paul Elio, who simply fails to keep any promise, Scaringe walks the talk and Rivian now sets the benchmark for all bakkies and SUV maker with a 14 000 Nm (sic) drivetrain, 0-100 in 4 seconds, and prices from $67 500 (just over ZAR966,000)
