Rivian's CEO explains why he believes losing the $7,500 EV tax credit is a good thing
Published on Nov 26, 2025 at 9:21 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Nov 26, 2025 at 1:26 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has explained why he believes losing the $7,500 federal EV tax credit was a good thing for the company.
The federal tax credit ended on September 30, effectively making most EVs $7,500 more expensive.
In the run-up to the tax being scrapped, there was a surge in sales of electric vehicles in the States.
However, most automakers agreed that after the tax was gone sales would fall.
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Rivian CEO says losing the EV tax credit was good for the company
With the EV tax credit gone, some carmakers appear to be rethinking their EV strategy, especially when it comes to releasing cars into the US market.
In September, Stellantis confirmed it was scrapping its proposed electric pickup, while more recently reports have suggested Ford might be ditching the Ford F-150 Lightning from its line-up.
While that isn’t good news for EV-lovers, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has said that it makes things easier for his company.
Speaking at the Rotary Club of Atlanta, he noted that with fewer EVs being made, there’s less competition for Rivian.
“I would say in the medium to long term, it actually simplifies things for Rivian,” Scaringe said.
“Narrowly and myopically through the lens of Rivian, it actually creates less competition.”
Despite that, he went on to say that carmakers shouldn’t be too quick to turn away from electrification, hailing it as ‘undeniably the future state’ of the automotive industry.
He warned that US automakers who are scaling back on their EV offerings risk making things ‘extremely hard’ for themselves in the future, particularly when it comes to carmakers in China.
The CEO has previously warned US carmakers need to keep up with China
This isn’t the first time Scaringe has issued a warning to legacy carmakers when it comes to Chinese cars.
Speaking on the Plugged-in Podcast back in September, the CEO said that legacy automakers were getting too caught up on cost, rather than quality.
“If you’re looking at the whole industry, the technology [in China] is much better,” he said.
“If I was an existing manufacturer, I’d get less hung up on the cost and more focused on ‘the cars are actually better.’”
And he’s not alone in his concerns, Ford CEO Jim Farley has previously said he thinks Ford has no future if it can’t keep up with Chinese carmakers.
“Seventy percent of all electric vehicles are made in China,” he said in August.
“We are in a global competition with China… and if we lose this, then we do not have a future at Ford.”
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With a background in both local and national press in the UK, Claire moved to New Zealand before joining the editorial team at Supercar Blondie in May 2024. As a Senior Content Writer working on New Zealand Standard Time (NZST), Claire was the first writer on the team to make the site’s output a slick 24/7 operation covering the latest in automotive news.
