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Cool Rivian facts & history

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Here are some cool Rivian facts, trivia and history!
  • Company name "Rivian" is inspired from CEO RJ Scaringe's time growing up in Florida on the Indian River
    • “Riv” from River and “ian” from Indian
  • Rivian moved its operation from Florida’s Space Coast to metro Detroit in 2013. Most of its team were Michigan natives at the time.
  • Rivian also has operations in San Jose and Irvine, California, where it develops its technology and batteries.
  • Rivian's manufacturing center will be a former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois.
  • There were no early spy photos of Rivian prototypes because the company's skateboards, which carry the electric vehicle batteries and key components, have been hidden underneath used Ford F-150 bodies as they have undergone testing.
  • A culture of humility and honesty is encouraged at Rivian:
    • “Part of our culture, part of what I’ve worked really hard to embed is a level of humility and honesty with how hard this is. Very often not just … for new automotive companies but also for startups in general … there’s the desire to present what you’re working on as being far more complete than it is so that the (perceived) progress is 10 times the real progress. We try to achieve the opposite of that,” Scaringe said. “We’d rather under promise and over deliver.”
  • Rivian's R1S SUV will be very different from Tesla Model X, says Scaringe
  • Rivian initially focused on developing a coupe but shelved that idea in 2011 due to changing consumer preferences from cars toward trucks and SUVs.
  • Additional Rivian vehicles will be unveiled beginning as early as late 2020.
  • As of late last 2018, Rivian had 560 employees among its several locations/offices. 350 of them are working at the Plymouth, Michigan location.
  • Scaringe is 36 and currently splits his time between Plymouth, MI and Irvine, CA.
  • Scaringe has 3 sons - ages 3, 1 and 10 weeks old.
  • Scaringe grew up as a car enthusiast, working on and restoring classic cars. His first car was a Volkswagen Corrado VR6.
  • Scaringe graduated with Ph.D. from MIT in 2009.
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RefugeEV

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Cool list definitely learned some new things. Never even thought what the company name might mean until now.

Very inspiring company and founder. Smart and ambitious yet humble :like: No wonder the market has taken a liking to Rivian. Oh and it’s vehicles rock so far.
 

ACDC

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Great move recognizing the shift from cars to SUV/Trucks that many years ago. That might have saved the company. If they'd kept up development of a coupe until recently they'd be bringing to market a vehicle few are interested in now, like the Volvo Polestar.
 

A Hawk

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  • There were no early spy photos of Rivian prototypes because the company's skateboards, which carry the electric vehicle batteries and key components, have been hidden underneath used Ford F-150 bodies as they have undergone testing.
Genius. That's gotta get under Ford's skin to learn of this especially cuz they just announced plans to develop an electric F150 but Rivian will likely beat them to market with the R1T.
 

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ACDC

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Here's another trivia:

The company was first named Mainstream Motors in 2009, then changed to Avera Automotive, and finally settled on Rivian Automotive in 2011.
 

Rivian1

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Here's another trivia:

The company was first named Mainstream Motors in 2009, then changed to Avera Automotive, and finally settled on Rivian Automotive in 2011.
Rivian is a superior name indeed to Mainstream Motors. :clap:
 

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So he's only 36 but has a PhD from MIT, three kids, and founded a car company.

Ok I feel like an underachiever now lol. :computerrage:
It's cool I'm right there with you . Whenever I think of RJ and Rivian I feel like I should go do push-ups while reading Tolstoy or something.

I spoke to RJ personally at a Rivian event and when he explained to me what he was doing in the early stages up in Michigan it was far from glamorous. Not nearly as impressive as what he's pulled together now. The guy is very humble and I think that helped him succeed.
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