Everything We Learned From Our Roundtable Interview With Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe
During the launch of the Rivian R2, the company brought along a special guest for lunch: CEO RJ Scaringe. Scaringe sat and answered questions with the media that day, providing insight on how Rivian is run, how it is looking to the future, and how the R2 will pivot everything towards the mainstream. This is (almost) everything we learned.
Note: RJ's responses and the questions posed by media have been edited for clarity.
Q: The R2 feels like the moment Rivian goes from niche to mainstream - 48% of people don't know about the brand, so how do you plan on communicating that?
A: "We measure it, and sometimes we come up with even higher than that. The people who do know about the brand really love the company, and the level of excitement is really high. We don't have to force feed a lot of information about the company; we can let it more naturally occur, y'know, through word of mouth."
Rivian is taking the "build, and they will come" approach, relying on goodwill from buyers, media, and its employees to expand in a safe, linear manner. No moonshots here.
Q: How far down do you want to go in the pricing range, either with the R3 or beyond?
A: "R3 will be priced lower than R2, and there's a variant of R3, the R3X, which is a high-performance off-road variant of the R3, but you can imagine even more variants beyond that."
Scaringe hinted at further variants of the R3, but was hesitant to talk pricing. This makes sense given the R3's debut is likely quite a ways away.
Q: How does Rivian, as a company, go from being a small startup to a mainstream brand?
A: "Beyond the vehicle [R2], there were a number of areas in the US where we just didn't have enough service coverage. So, like Seattle, the Pacific Northwest was one that we were really under capacity for service. It would take 50 days to get a service appointment. Our networks now, most of our locations are down to a day or two.
Buyers of a mainstream mass-market vehicle like the R2 will expect quick service turnaround, and getting these times down will help Rivian appear much more of a threat to rivals like Tesla and Ford.
Q:What are a couple of the things you think will draw customers to the R2?
A: "In my own personal case, I identify with the things that make the car really usable for having a family that does a lot of adventures together: the front storage trunk is big [for this vehicle class], I love the auto-cinching on the front hood, so it pulls it in. The two glove boxes is sort of like a sailboat: every nook and cranny is being used in the vehicle. I love the rear drop glass. It's just a wonderful way to let nature in.
Q:How do you make a Rivian feel like a Rivian?
A: "So you think of developing a vehicle: you have trade-offs. You trade off between on-road and off-road, between aerodynamics and utility. We tried to challenge the very notion that you could make a car that's both aerodynamic and has this more boxy form factor to fit a lot of gear into it. We tried to challenge the idea that a vehicle can be capable both on-road and off-road. Our chief engineer would present this and say, 'this is impossible,' and we'd say, ' Yeah, that's sort of the point. That's what we want to deliver on.'"
There was a sort of nervous chuckle here: all of us have heard this before. But what the R2 is capable of genuinely backs up what RJ is saying here. Is it perfect? Did they pull off the impossible? No, and no one can. But Rivian tried and got closer than just about anyone in the segment.
Q:Would you ever be open to maybe an extended-range electric vehicle?
A: Nope.
Rivian wants to stay an EV brand, even in the face of low appetite for these powertrains in the US.
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This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 6:06 PM.