It’s being reported this week that Rivian has raised $350 million from Cox Automotive. This $350 million is on top of a $700 million round led by Amazon early this year, and another $500 million from Ford. If you don’t know Rivian, it’s the company founded by R.J. Scaringe that’s planning to produce an electric pickup and SUV next year. Might R.J. Scaringe actually become the Elon Musk of trucks? A very interesting NY Times article (subscription required) from a few weeks ago discusses the man behind Rivian. With Rivian, Scaringe is tackling a few myths about electric trucks.
- A truck can’t be electric
- An EV can’t go off-road
- An EV can’t get dirty
- An EV can’t tow
- Truck drivers don’t want to be environmentally friendly
Not only will Rivian supposedly address these myths, but also showcase how the R1T version will reach 60 MPH in 3.0 seconds according to the Rivian website.