If you’re like me and thinking that your first electric vehicle might be Rivian’s upcoming R2 model, you may have also been wondering if the new EV will qualify for the full federal tax credit in the United States — especially considering that the company’s current vehicles don’t anymore.
Well, I have some good news for you. Rivian’s CEO, RJ Scaringe, has confirmed that the R2 will qualify for the full $7,500 federal EV tax credit. At least, that’s the plan. In an interview with Mad Money’s Jim Cramer, Scaringe talked about Rivian’s brand, its commercial partnership with Amazon, and what’s next for the company.
During the interview, Cramer asked Scaringe about the issue surrounding price with the current R1T and R1S. Both vehicles cost well over $70,000, which keeps them out of a price range that is doable for most consumers, so how could the company compete with other automakers? Scaringe said that’s where the R2 comes in which, in addition to featuring a smaller form factor, will also cost significantly less.
As previously reported, the R2 model is rumored to come in at a starting price between $40,000 to $50,000 rather than the $73,000 that the R1T currently starts at. While Scaringe didn’t confirm pricing, he said that “our next set of products, what we call creatively R2, will be smaller in terms of form factor but also a much lower price point.”
When asked about how Rivian will handle the recent changes to the federal EV tax credit which lessened what the R1T and R1S now qualify for, Scarigne said that “the R2 program was been designed entirely around achieving the $7,500 tax credit.” Of course, the R2 isn’t expected to start delivering to customers until 2026 — plenty of time for the tax credit qualifications to change all over again.
You can check out the full interview between Jim Cramer and RJ Scaringe below:
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe joins ‘Mad Money’ host Jim Cramer to talk the state of the EV transition in the U.S., investment in charging infrastructure, consumer adoption of EVs and more.
With that in mind, if the R2 does come in at $40,000, it means you could end up with Rivian’s next-generation vehicle for $32,500, an enormous value for those who want to buy into the brand. We’ll see if that pricing actually shakes out but, regardless, consumers are sure to have a much more affordable adventure EV on the way by the company in just a couple of years.
We might not have to wait for long for some of these questions to get answered, either. While it has yet to be officially announced, the company is expected to host an event in Laguna Beach, California on March 7th, per documents released from a recent city council meeting. The application with the city indicates that Rivian plans to show off a number of vehicles at the event, indicating that this is likely to be the R2 reveal we’ve been waiting years for.
We may also have a sense of what to expect from the design of the R2. A recent patent application for a new light accessory shows off what looks like the R1T but also an SUV that looks a little different from the R1S — in fact, it could be the R2 design that we’ve already been teased by the company in a Q&A video it released last year.
