Rivian might have been the first to the market with the R1T electric pickup truck, but Tesla is set to catch up with the imminent launch of the Cybertruck. However, Rivian boss RJ Scaringe has declared his company is not scared of competition from the long-awaited Tesla electric pickup truck, and he’s right, but not for the reason you might think.
Even though both companies are soon to be offering high-end battery-powered pickup trucks, Scaringe is not losing sleep, and he explained why at the Code Conference 2023 on Tuesday. Scaringe explained that customers have varying tastes, and those that like the style and design of the R1T aren’t likely to switch to the Cybertruck, and vice versa.
“If you were to think of the Venn diagrams with customers, there’s probably not a lot of overlap,” Scaringe said.
In fact, the CEO welcomed the Cybertruck, emphasizing that it will take more than just Tesla or Rivian being successful to transition the world to electric mobility.
“But I think it’s great that a product like that exists in the world. If we truly want to electrify everything that’s produced – to give us some scale – there’s one and a half billion cars on the planet, and we as a planet produce 90 million a year,” Scaringe added.
Despite Scaringe’s confident tone, Rivian is in an uphill struggle to turn a profit as it scales up production of the R1T truck and R1S SUV. Industry experts, including Garrett Nelson of CFRA, are not expecting the EV startup to generate a positive cash flow until Q4 2024. However appears to be far better positioned that some of the other EV startups, like Lucid, which is not only struggling with high costs as it ramps production, but also just to sell its luxury electric sedans.
Rivian concentrates on the outdoorsy pickup truck lovers with its marketing of the R1T, and until now, has not had real competition. Other companies offering electric pickups include Ford with the F-150 Lightning and GM with the Silverado.
RJ Scaringe, Rivian’s CEO, was asked by the Verge for his thoughts on the Cybertruck and his response is very diplomatic, but I agree. pic.twitter.com/2Nu4ejlJbE
— Rivian Updates (@RivianUpdates) September 27, 2023
