- Rivian referred to as Tesla “very inspirational” for its rise to change into a frontrunner in EVs
- It nearly adopted in Tesla’s footsteps in constructing a sports activities automobile earlier than the R1
- CEO RJ Scaringe made a “very intentional” transfer to keep away from copying Tesla’s “Grasp Plan”
It is arduous to disregard the contributions that Tesla made within the infancy of the trendy EV business. Many have given Tesla recognition for paving the way in which for electrical vehicles in immediately’s market, and whereas some automakers have definitely used Tesla for inspiration in its personal automobiles, others have purposefully steered their ship in a distinct course to keep away from copying Tesla’s homework.
Rivian is a kind of corporations.
Nonetheless a startup in itself, Rivian was based in 2009—that is only a 12 months after Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the reins. Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has dedicated to doing issues in a different way than Tesla. In a latest interview on Kleiner Perkin’s Grit Podcast, Scaringe defined he did not need Rivian to change into simply one other Tesla, however as a substitute discover its personal path ahead within the rising world of electrical vehicles.
Rivian
The very best place to start out right here is the start when Elon Musk notoriously revealed his Grasp Plan again in 2006 (it is nonetheless out there on Tesla’s web site, not like its weblog promising all of its EVs had {hardware} able to attaining full self-driving). The plan outlined pumping out a low-volume sports activities automobile, adopted by a moderate-volume sporty household sedan, and eventually an reasonably priced EV. Looks like a simple path—perhaps even the very best one—however Scaringe knew he could not simply mimic Tesla and obtain the identical success:
“[A] logical place to start out is construct a sports activities automobile, use it to construct the model, then following the sports activities automobile, comply with with extra mass market automobiles, and that was, after all, how Tesla’s technique performed out, and it labored splendidly nicely for them,” stated Scaringe.
“We have been beginning in the same logic area to say, ‘construct a sports activities automobile,’ I spotted someone’s carried out that already, and so they’ve carried out it nicely.”
It took Rivian practically a decade to construct its the primary public idea that will finally change into the R1T. Throughout that point, Scaringe and his staff wanted to determine precisely how the corporate may differentiate itself from Tesla, or another automaker seeking to get into the EV area.
Rivian’s reply? Present a branded expertise relatively than construct simply one other commuter.
“[P]ivot to a totally totally different kind of product,” stated Scaringe, explaining that the corporate was aiming to supply a distinct “expertise, automobile topology, was a really intentional effort to additionally create a brand new story for not solely us as an organization or as a model however, importantly, assist shift mindsets round what sustainable transportation can appear to be.”
Rivian rolled the very first R1T off the manufacturing line in 2021 and the R1S SUV variant hit the street the next 12 months.
In the meantime, Rivian was additionally tapping into one other area all whereas this was occurring as nicely; one which Tesla hadn’t dared to the touch but. Following a $700 million inflow of money to Rivian in 2019, the automaker started to develop its industrial platform referred to as the Electrical Supply Van. This allowed Rivian additionally to grab the chance to service the underdeveloped B2B market.
Scaringe’s strategy to constructing vehicles reveals simply how the EV area nonetheless has alternatives for brand spanking new and artistic manufacturers. That is to not say manufacturing vehicles is straightforward—it very a lot is not. However it does show that separating your self from the pack is sufficient to get you seen. The remaining is a mixture of the fitting concepts, an inflow of money, and keen customers.
