Rivian - we are not abandoning Georgia

[lefkonj]

I watched RJs announcement of the R2/R3 and while I heard 'We are going to start in Normal for R2' I never heard the word PAUSE. Building the plant will take time and Rivian doesn't have time to wait for that. The R2 is critical to their success and if they wait for Georgia to be ready that could mean 27 or 28 for the R2. Can't find any quotes in the article since it is behind a paywall.

Happy to be wrong on this but I searched for this when everyone freaked out at the R2 announcement and never heard they were stopping Georgia at all, just doing their best to the get the R2 on the road as soon as possible.

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[kurtlikevonnegut]

I watched RJs announcement of the R2/R3 and while I heard 'We are going to start in Normal for R2' I never heard the word PAUSE. Building the plant will take time and Rivian doesn't have time to wait for that. The R2 is critical to their success and if they wait for Georgia to be ready that could mean 27 or 28 for the R2. Can't find any quotes in the article since it is behind a paywall.

Happy to be wrong on this but I searched for this when everyone freaked out at the R2 announcement and never heard they were stopping Georgia at all, just doing their best to the get the R2 on the road as soon as possible.

I think he or the company did say they were pausing in subsequent statements but I do think it's more of a slowdown than a stop. Based on their cash flow situation I think they want to move more of the CAPEX associated with the Georgia facility into FY25 in the hope of hitting positive gross margins on the R1 this year to slow the bleeding. I'd they do that though, there would be no way they could have R2 ready to ship early 2026, hence the bridge in Normal to allow for that additional time to start on the new facility.

 

[ET Irrigation]

Georgia has no one to blame but their NIMBY residents there

And the NOTE's (Not Over There Either)

 

[Hillbilly]

Happy to hear. Establishing a presence in Georgia and contributing to the economy here was a primary reason the wife and I bought Rivians.

 

[Eric9610]

Expect as they get closer to launching R2 they sell the land in Georgia. The IL location can be expanded 2-3x current space. Also, with the carrot of GA they can get more concessions in IL to expand the GOAL of any company is to be profitable as soon as possible and unfortunately i don't think that includes any space in GA.

They are trying to figure a way out of GA and just don't want to say it until they have a finalized plan.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Expect as they get closer to launching R2 they sell the land in Georgia. The IL location can be expanded 2-3x current space. Also, with the carrot of GA they can get more concessions in IL to expand the GOAL of any company is to be profitable as soon as possible and unfortunately i don't think that includes any space in GA.

They are trying to figure a way out of GA and just don't want to say it until they have a finalized plan.

There are realities of operating in Georgia that are likely key to Rivian's long term success that simply aren't possible for Illinois to meet. That doesn't mean someone else can't meet them, but Illinois isn't going to get closer to a port or change to a right to work state any time soon.

 

[Autolycus]

Expect as they get closer to launching R2 they sell the land in Georgia. The IL location can be expanded 2-3x current space. Also, with the carrot of GA they can get more concessions in IL to expand the GOAL of any company is to be profitable as soon as possible and unfortunately i don't think that includes any space in GA.

They are trying to figure a way out of GA and just don't want to say it until they have a finalized plan.

They don’t own the land in Georgia and would owe substantial clawbacks for investments the state and local development authority have made for the site. Rivian backing out before hitting certain investment $ and employment metrics would mean a total loss on the site by Rivian. They can’t sell anything because they own nothing.

 

[Atlrivian]

They don’t own the land in Georgia and would owe substantial clawbacks for investments the state and local development authority have made for the site. Rivian backing out before hitting certain investment $ and employment metrics would mean a total loss on the site by Rivian. They can’t sell anything because they own nothing.

I read it is on the order of 1.5 BILLION in clawbacks. Between that huge cost and cheaper labor etc in GA, better in the long run to build the plant

 

[Eric9610]

If they put it under a subsidiary, for the development, something any smart company would do to reduce risk and exposure. You let them come after a company with no dollars then close subsidiary. State gets nothing. Most manufacturing is done under separate names / BU’s to insulate the parent company from any risk and or exposure. They will bail on GA. Good luck clawing back from a closed / bankrupt BU.

just for the record it’s a Bette business decision to eat the $1.5b then pump another $3b into the site when you can expand Normal and build a factory in Europe as an export hub for less.

 

[Dantzig]

Saddened to see the folks of Social Circle and the surrounding areas dismissed and demeaned on this forum. It really reflects poorly on the Rivian community.

 

[atebit]

Manufacturing Plant Tomorrow,
Test Track Tonight!

 

[Eric9610]

Saddened to see the folks of Social Circle and the surrounding areas dismissed and demeaned on this forum. It really reflects poorly on the Rivian community.

it is unfortunate but business decisions have to be made if Rivian is to make it long term. It’s hard to hear but the locals did not exactly welcome Rivian to the community. People should be upset at the delays that forces the had of a company we love.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Saddened to see the folks of Social Circle and the surrounding areas dismissed and demeaned on this forum. It really reflects poorly on the Rivian community.

I'm saddened to see a handful of people put the livelihood of thousands of employees at risk with frivolous lawsuits. It really reflects poorly on the residents of Georgia.

 

[Supratachophobia]

Pausing Georgia is the best decision Rivian has made. Save the cash, and utilize Normal Ill to its full capacity. Get the R2 & R3 production up and running in the factory you already have, then when cash positive, resume Georgia.

I'm just confused why they didn't do it earlier. Maybe they didn't expect the stock to get trashed so hard.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Georgia has no one to blame but their NIMBY residents there

Agreed ?. I do not know how anyone (besides trolls) can blame Rivian for this decision. I still see ignorant comments on other social media made from people that, almost certain, as soon as you click on their profile you'll see a glut of anti-Rivian pictures/posts/comments.

Personally, just looking at the politics of Georgia, I feel like an EV factory was never going to be a good fit there. But I guess Rivian was a little too optimistic. If that land becomes another strip of fast food, car washes, and Dollar Generals, instead of a high tech, high wage manufacturing center, the residents will have no one to blame but themselves.

We literally saw the same NIMBY-ism here in Northern Virginia not that long ago. When Disney wanted to build a park here. But people protested, Disney backed out, and look what we got instead. ??

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