Rivian Delays $6.6B Federal Loan Draw Until Georgia Plant Completion - 2028 Target

Electric vehicle upstart plays the waiting game with taxpayer billions.

The $6.6 Billion Question

Rivian's decision to postpone accessing its approved federal loan until after the Georgia facility becomes operational represents a strategic pivot in capital management. The 2028 timeline puts pressure on existing cash reserves while avoiding immediate debt servicing costs.

Factory First Financing

Building the physical infrastructure before tapping government funds creates both operational leverage and political cover. The move signals confidence in current liquidity while maintaining optionality for future capital needs.

Because nothing says fiscal responsibility like waiting three years to borrow money you've already been approved for—meanwhile, traditional automakers are actually building cars today.

Rivian timelines tied to Georgia plant and R2-R3 production

The company, based in Irvine, California, plans to start building the Georgia plant next year. The factory is intended to handle production of the company’s upcoming models, including the R2 and eventually another model called R3.

The R2 will first be built at Rivian’s existing plant in Normal, Illinois starting in 2026. Rivian applied for this federal loan last year, shortly after pausing the initial Georgia construction plan because of cost pressures.

Yes, cost-cutting led to the pause. Now the plan is back on track, just slower.

Claire also reaffirmed Rivian’s target to reach operating profit by 2028, but only if the Normal plant reaches full annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles. That is the internal performance threshold.

Claire said, “Ramping up the Normal facility to 200,000 WOULD get us to Ebitda,” referring to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Right now, Rivian is nowhere near that.

In August, the company projected an adjusted EBITDA loss of up to $2.25 billion for the year. So yes, they are planning long-term, because the short-term is not pretty.

Rivian analyzed Xiaomi SU7, but says U.S. cannot match China’s support

There was another LAYER to the conversation this week. CEO RJ Scaringe confirmed that Rivian engineers recently tore down the Chinese Xiaomi SU7, the electric sedan that has been shaking up markets because of its price.

It starts at 215,900 yuan, around $30,000. Last year, even Ford CEO Jim Farley said he imported an SU7 to drive it himself. That got attention.

Scaringe said the SU7 is “a really well executed, heavily vertically-integrated technology platform” and “nicely done.” He even said that if he lived in China, it is one of the cars he would consider buying.

But after the teardown, Rivian did not discover any magic trick that explains the low price. “We learned nothing from the teardown” that would explain how Xiaomi keeps costs down, Scaringe said.

According to him, the answer is simple: China’s government support system. He said that in China, “the cost of capital is zero or negative, meaning they get paid to put up plants.” That is a financial environment the U.S. does not have and cannot copy.

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