Is It Rivian’s Time To Rise? – CleanTechnica

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Tesla exploded the electric car market, becoming the clear leader in the industry with the mass-market Tesla Model 3, and eventually even having the #1 best selling model of any kind in the world with the Tesla Model Y. Recently, though, BYD sales have climbed much faster, and Tesla sales have actually declined. Perhaps it’s just a bump in the road for Tesla, but this is definitely the year of BYD. There are several other Chinese EV startups rising fast as well — from NIO to Xpeng to Zeekr. Does that mean the US is just going to be left in the dust? Maybe, but we’ve got some cavalry on the way. In particular, watch out for the rise of Rivian.

In the latest CleanTechnica Talk podcast, CleanTechnica’s Scott Cooney and Rob Simon discuss the great potential of Rivian, the quality of Rivian vehicles, the company’s coming mass-market (read: cheaper) models, and the opening Tesla is leaving for another young EV startup to climb that always daunting mass-adoption scaling graph. Enjoy the discussion!

You can also listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, Overcast, Pocket, Podbean, or Radio Public.

Referenced in the podcast, here’s Scott inside a Rivian R1T gear tunnel:

Also, here are more fun picks of the coming more affordable R2 and R3:

Rob and Scott also discuss the new Rivian–Volkswagen joint venture, which looks promising, and the growing talent pool at Rivian. Furthermore, naturally, they discuss the fact that many disillusioned former Elon Musk fans can find a new home at Rivian — buying its vehicles, investing in the company, or even working there — if they want to support a pure EV company that is not out there politicking for Donald Trump.

Also, note that, while most Tesla owners trade in for a new Tesla when they trade their car in, Rivian was a strong second choice, getting 10% of those Tesla drivers.

What do you think — is Rivian going to be the next EV startup to see a strong rise in sales? Can Rivian become a mass-market auto brand like Tesla? Will Rivian become profitable in the coming year and start getting some of the countless headlines Tesla gets?