Rivian CEO revealed he made one 'very intentional' move to be different to Tesla
Published on Oct 16, 2025 at 3:21 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Oct 16, 2025 at 3:21 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Claire Reid
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said he made a very ‘intentional’ decision to differentiate his company from Tesla.
Rivian was founded in 2009 and has launched two EVs – the R1S and the R1T as well as an all-electric commercial van.
Almost as soon as the company was founded, it was swiftly dubbed a ‘Tesla rival’ by the media.
However, in a recent interview, Rivian CEO and founder Scaringe revealed there was one big decision he made early on to set his company apart from Tesla.
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Rivian made a decision early on to be different from Tesla
Although now known for its R1T pickup and the R1S SUV, before all of that Rivian had planned to launch the brand with a sports car.
“I started the company in 2009, the initial product was essentially like a sports coupe, a little sports car. We worked on that for a couple of years,” Scaringe told The Drive back in 2021.
However, the decision was made to shelve that particular product in favor of the Rivian EV truck we know today.
In a more recent interview, Scaringe explained that the decision to ditch the sports car was a way to stand apart from Tesla, which famously introduced the Roadster as its first production vehicle.
Speaking on the Grit Podcast, Scaringe said that introducing a sports car to help build the brand was a ‘logical place to start’ and noted that it worked ‘wonderfully’ for Tesla, but went on to say he wanted to carve out a different path for Rivian.
“You know, we were starting in a similar logic space to say, ‘build a sports car,’ and I realized somebody’s done that already, and they’ve done it well, with Tesla,” the Rivian CEO explained.
“So to pivot to a completely different type of product, you know, experience, vehicle topology, was a very intentional effort to also create a new story for not only us as a company or as a brand but, importantly, help shift mindsets around what sustainable transportation can look like.”
The EV maker is gearing up to release the R2 SUV
Although we likely won’t ever see a Rivian sports car, the EV maker is working away on expanding its lineup.
The R2 SUV is slated to arrive early next year and will be a smaller, less expensive model than the R1S.
The company has also revealed plans to introduce the compact all-electric R3 SUV.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
