Oh my god, okay, it’s happening! After years of waiting, we are finally a month away from finding out what Rivian has in store for all of us with its long-expected R2 electric vehicle. Mark your calendars, friends. We’ve got an event and a date to prove it.
In a post on Instagram, the company has finally confirmed that it will be hosting an event on March 7th. Rivian isn’t hiding what the event is about either — the company has confirmed that the event will be a reveal of its long-rumored and anticipated R2 electric vehicle.
The text of the post doesn’t give anything else away, unfortunately. It simply says “This is it. Get ready to meet R2 on March 7th.” Of course, the conspiracy theorists will dissect the animation in the post and come up with hair-brained schemes like “Is the event happening at sunrise?” “Is the standard color going to be orange?” Feel free to go nuts with your own guesses:
Speaking of which, the company has not yet confirmed a time for the event or a location — but it’s basically confirmed to be occurring at Rivian’s retail and theatre location at Laguna Beach, California 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 Main Beach Park near the company’s South Coast Theatre location. The application also says that the event is expected to run at the park from 3:45 PM to sunset, and a portion of the event will be open to the public — most likely the showcase of the vehicle in the park.
While we haven’t seen the R2 yet — Rivian has been pretty good about keeping the design and features under wraps — there are some things we’ve started to learn about the upcoming EV. Per previous reports, the Rivian R2 is expected to launch in 2026 at a starting price of $40,000. In a recent interview with Mad Money’s Jim Cramer, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe also confirmed that the vehicle is expected to qualify for the full $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
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 — it could likely climb quite quickly for those who want to configure the vehicle with a bigger battery alone — but we’ll have to wait to see what options are available with the R2.
As far as design, a recent patent application may have given us an idea on what we can expect the vehicle to look like. The image below from the application shows off a vehicle that appears slightly different and smaller than the R1S electric SUV that we know. Specifically, the vehicle depicted in the image below features different headlamps and a more compact design than the current 3-row SUV:
All of this also lines up with the information the company released in its first environmental impact report. In the report, Rivian confirmed that the R2 will be a lower-priced midsize vehicle, coming in smaller and more affordable than the R1T and R1S.
Our next-generation product line, R2, is being developed to bring the essence of our current products into a midsize form factor and lower price point. From its design, to the integration of hardware and software, to the engineering of the manufacturing process, we plan to leverage our many learnings from R1 to drive down costs while delivering performance features and capabilities that will inspire customers.
We’re just over a month from the Rivian R2 event. As someone who is considering a Subaru Outback Wilderness right now, I will be on the edge of my seat when Scaringe and crew take the stage next month. It seems almost certain that my next vehicle could be the R2 if the company can deliver on its usual performance at a lower price point.
Even if I hold out and go with the Outback for now, I’m pretty sure that will be my last gas vehicle. I can’t wait to see what Rivian has in store for all of us on March 7th.
