RIVN
From slide deck to steel
Rivian just crossed a key line in the sand: production of the R2 has begun at its Normal, Illinois factory. That matters because EV startups can talk a big game for years, but the market usually starts caring when there’s an actual vehicle coming off the line instead of just renderings and breathless keynote music.
Why investors should perk up
The R2 is supposed to be Rivian’s next big growth engine, so this isn’t just a manufacturing update — it’s a test of whether the company can turn demand into repeatable output. Customer deliveries are still set for later this spring, which means the next few weeks should tell you whether Rivian can keep the momentum without hitting the usual startup potholes: supply chain hiccups, production bottlenecks, or delivery delays.
The big picture
For Rivian, this is the part where the story gets less ‘someday’ and more ‘show me.’ If production ramps smoothly, the R2 could help widen the company’s addressable market and give bulls something sturdier than vibes to work with. If not, well, the EV road to profitability still has a few too many speed bumps.
Big picture: starting production is the kind of milestone that won’t solve Rivian’s problems overnight, but it does move the company one step closer to becoming a real scale story instead of a concept car with a ticker.