Rivian boss warns carmakers cutting back on EVs will be left behind in global race
Published on Aug 29, 2025 at 7:40 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Aug 29, 2025 at 7:40 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Rivian boss RJ Scaringe believes that backing down on EVs is a mistake American automakers shouldn’t make.
Rivian, like Tesla and others, is an EV-only automaker, so Scaringe is, of course, a bit biased.
But his point of view is shared by many.
And Elon Musk indirectly agreed with him.
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Why Rivian boss believes automakers shouldn’t back down on EVs
Rivian boss RJ Scaringe recently sat down to discuss the current EV situation in the US with InsideEVs, and his view is pretty straightforward.
Backing down on EVs is a mistake, in his opinion.
“There’s going to be a vacuum of competition”, Scaringe said.
“It blows my mind that this is happening.”
Scaringe, pictured below on the right, clearly had some things to say during the chat.
Both in the US and in the rest of the world, the EV race has become politicized, which means everyone is using EVs – either promoting them or fighting them – to gain votes.
In the US, the current administration decided to ditch the federal EV tax credit, which also means automakers are reconsidering their options.
The fact that the market is sending mixed signals doesn’t help.
One day, there’s a survey that says EV sales are slower than expected, and then the next day, there’s a study that confirms the exact opposite is true.
But, according to Scaringe, EVs are still the way to go, so these setbacks won’t mean much in the long run.
The Tesla CEO indirectly agrees with him
Lucid, Rivian, and Tesla have two things in common.
All three make electric cars only, and all three are startups that went public.
Obviously, Tesla’s market share is significantly larger than that of Lucid or Rivian, but Elon Musk has been saying this for years: quality electric cars and people will buy them.
A few days ago, he posted a comment on X in response to an article about Mercedes ringing the alarm for the upcoming EU ban, and his message was clear.
“Just make good EVs”, the Tesla CEO wrote.
Musk has always maintained that if electric cars are good enough, people will buy them.
A couple of years ago, he predicted the Model Y would go on to become the best-selling car in the world, and he used this as an example to make his point.
In a way, Scaringe is sending the same message.
Electric or not, make great cars, and buyers will come.
