EV startup Rivian starts first-ever electric truck production

EV start-up Rivian is the first carmaker to introduce an electric truck to the consumer market, beating off Tesla, General Motors, and others.

Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe tweeted on Tuesday that the company's first R1T pickup for a client rolled off the production line in Normal, Illinois.

“After months of building pre-production vehicles, this morning our first customer vehicle drove off our production line in Normal!  Our team’s collective efforts have made this moment possible,” he tweeted. “Can’t wait to get these into the hands of our customers!”

The start of manufacturing, which has been postponed numerous times comes only weeks after the business, which is funded by Amazon and Ford Motor submitted a confidential draught registration form for an IPO.

Rivian is anticipated to be the first of a small group of automakers to develop an electric pickup truck by the end of next year. GM is expected to launch the GMC Hummer EV pickup this autumn, followed perhaps next year by EV start-up Lordstown Motors, Ford, and Tesla, which just delayed deliveries of its Cybertruck from this year to late 2022.

Source: CNBC