Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe says too many carmakers are copying Tesla

Today, I’m talking with Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. RJ was on the show last September when we chatted at the Code Conference, but the past 10 months have seen a whirlwind of change throughout the car industry and at Rivian in particular. This year alone, the company unveiled five new models in its lineup and also just announced a $5 billion joint venture with Volkswagen. We got into all that and more.

If you’re a Decoder listener, you’ve heard me talk to a lot of car CEOs on the show, but it’s rare to talk to a car company founder, and RJ was game to talk about basically anything — even extremely minor feature requests I pulled from the forums. It’s a fun one.

Links:

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe isn't scared of the Cybertruck | Decoder

VW will invest up to $5 billion in Rivian as part of new EV joint venture | The Verge

Rivian blazed a trail with its adventure EVs — can it stay on top? | The Verge

Rivian R2 revealed: a $45,000 electric off-roader for the masses | The Verge

Rivian surprises with R3 and R3X electric SUVs | The Verge

Rivian puts its Georgia factory plans on pause | The Verge

Rivian’s R1 vehicles are getting a gut overhaul | The Verge

Rivian R1S review: king of the mountain | The Verge

Rivian’s long, narrow road to profit | WSJ

Tesla’s Share of U.S. Electric Car Market Falls Below 50% | NYT

Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/23965790

Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices