Rivian has renegotiated its loan agreement with the Department of Energy and now expects to borrow $4.5 billion to build a new factory in Georgia. the initial amount is 6.6 billion dollars Separated under the Biden administration.
The company also announced Thursday that it will take out the loan earlier than planned, in early 2027, and expects to increase total capacity at the Georgia plant from 200,000 to 300,000 during the initial commissioning phase.
The company said on Thursday that the larger capacity – a 50% increase over its original plans – will help reduce costs per unit, while providing significant room for further capacity expansion in later stages.
Part of the factory’s capacity will be used for production R2 robot For Uber. Under a deal signed earlier this year, Uber has invested an initial $300 million in Rivian and is expected to purchase 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robot taxis ahead of a planned launch in San Francisco and Miami in 2028. The ride-hailing company has the option to purchase up to 40,000 more R2 robots from Rivian. 2030.
Rivian broke ground on the Georgia factory late last year and is in the early stages of what is called vertical construction at the site outside Atlanta. The company plans to start car production by the end of 2028. Until then, Rivian will build R2 SUVs at its current plant in Normal, Illinois.
Company recently started production of R2 despite damage to the plant from the tornado, and Rivian said Thursday it was making initial deliveries to its employees. Deliveries to customers are expected to begin “in the coming weeks,” according to Rivia.
The changes to the DOE loan come as Rivian reports its financial results for the first quarter of 2026 on Thursday. The company generated $1.38 billion in revenue, with $908 million from vehicle sales and $473 million from software and services. The company lost $416 million in the quarter, compared to a loss of $541 million in the same period last year.
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