Rivian Georgia Factory ceremonial groundbreaking events will be held next month 👷‍♂️

[Electric Rivilution]

Rivian to hold groundbreaking events next month for $5B Georgia factory

The dual September ceremonies are the latest signs of life for the long-delayed EV factory.

https://www.ajc.com/business/2025/0...ceremonies-next-month-for-5b-georgia-factory/

Electric vehicle startup Rivian plans to hold two ceremonial events to christen the forthcoming construction of its long-delayed $5 billion factory an hour east of Atlanta.

The company will play host to a community event Sept. 14 and a formal groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 16 with stakeholders, media and government officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp. The events at the roughly 2,000-acre project site along I-20 bolster promises by Rivian leaders to begin vertical construction of the factory next year, following multiple delays and setbacks.

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[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I guess the anti-Rivian faction lost their court case yesterday? Have been checking the sites where they normally post and they've all been silent on the subject. If that's the case -- good. They get me so worked up and angry, LOL.


One recent article:

 

[cbrcanuck]

Does anyone else think they should max out capacity of Normal before spending all the money on GA?

 

[Great Gatsby]

Does anyone else think they should max out capacity of Normal before spending all the money on GA?

Why not both?

 

[Great Gatsby]

I guess the anti-Rivian faction lost their court case yesterday? Have been checking the sites where they normally post and they've all been silent on the subject. If that's the case -- good. They get me so worked up and angry, LOL.


One recent article:

Told you to pay them no mind. These people seldom win around here.

 

[cbrcanuck]

Why not both?

Financial conservatism... if they can produce all models in Normal and there isn't enough demand to fill that capacity, seems pretty risky to build a second plant and run them both at partial capacity when the market is still looking for a positive news story from Rivian on the # of deliveries. Who knows what sort of demand R2 will have in the next couple of years (fingers crossed!). I'm all for optimism and sales projections, but I'm also for survival.

 

[Great Gatsby]

Financial conservatism... if they can produce all models in Normal and there isn't enough demand to fill that capacity, seems pretty risky to build a second plant and run them both at partial capacity when the market is still looking for a positive news story from Rivian on the # of deliveries. Who knows what sort of demand R2 will have in the next couple of years (fingers crossed!). I'm all for optimism and sales projections, but I'm also for survival.

Fair, but I also see it as a worthwhile risk. Better to overprepare for the R2 demand than be conversative with the finances and fall short. Better take advantage of that government loan while they can for the GA factory and strike while the fire is hot. They haven't said how many preorders they have for the R2, but I'd imagine that it is a reasonable amount and they want to be able to pump these out within weeks of them being ordered. I personally haven't reserved one as I 'd rather wait to test drive the R2 first, but if its anything as advertised, I'll order one myself. Its a bet on their own success and I'm willing to bet with them. I can already imagine a world where the R2 is everywhere and I'm sure Rivian knows they have something special on their hands too.

 

[Hillbilly]

Does anyone else think they should max out capacity of Normal before spending all the money on GA?

No

 

[jwanderson88]

It will take several years to get the GA plant up and running. When Normal is maxed out you'll want Georgia to be ready. When you stop and think about the whole thing, it's mind boggling for a startup to embark on a thing like that. It's too bad they aren't ready to build the R3 now.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Does anyone else think they should max out capacity of Normal before spending all the money on GA?

No, especially not if they aren't going to be making my R3X at Normal.

 

[VSG]

Does anyone else think they should max out capacity of Normal before spending all the money on GA?

And if they did that what would happen to the $1.5B that Georgia has spent on that site/project as their part of the deal that Rivian made with them to bring the jobs/plant to the state? And what would happen to the $7B DOE loan for that plant?

Rivian has obligations too.

Your thinking is myopic and short-term. You can't just turn on the plant when you need it - you need to spend years working on these things.

 

[lefkonj]

Does anyone else think they should max out capacity of Normal before spending all the money on GA?

What is the timeline for a facility like this? Has to be at least 18 to 24 months. By then the R2 will be out and then quickly followed by the R3. In order for Rivian to be scalable they need the Georgia plant to make the sales numbers they require to be a successful auto company. Normal alone just won't cut it. I would imagine it is longer than 24 months considering all the legal stuff, supply chain issues, construction worker challenges, environmental etc etc etc.

 

[ndmiller]

Financial conservatism... if they can produce all models in Normal and there isn't enough demand to fill that capacity, seems pretty risky to build a second plant and run them both at partial capacity when the market is still looking for a positive news story from Rivian on the # of deliveries. Who knows what sort of demand R2 will have in the next couple of years (fingers crossed!). I'm all for optimism and sales projections, but I'm also for survival.

I think RJ and Rivian are executing their strategy period. They have the money, the land, the plan and the product plan (through R7), so they're going.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Does anyone else think they should max out capacity of Normal before spending all the money on GA?

That makes sense, except for Rivian will not be profitable enough with maxed out Normal production. Factories take years to build, and there will be enough time between the R2 line coming in Normal and the GA factory going online.

Plus how am I going to get an RXXX if GA isn’t operational?

 

[cbrcanuck]

Love it - the consensus is in - get those shovels in the ground!

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