According to Reuters, electric automaker Rivian plans to build a second assembly plant in the United States.
Unnamed sources say the second plant would also include battery cell production. A Rivian spokesperson confirmed to the publication it is indeed “exploring locations for a second U.S. manufacturing facility,” adding it was an early and evolving process.
The second plant is nicknamed ‘Project Tera’ and could break ground in early 2022, say sources, adding to the Amazon-backed company’s first plant in Normal, Ilinois. The new plant would include a 50 gigawatt-hour battery cell production operation, based on documents seen by Reuters. The new factory would require roughly a 2,000 acre site.
Rivian has plans to launch its electric R1T pick up and R1S SUV, plus delivery vans for Amazon. Those that saw Amazon’s Jeff Bezos fly to space also saw Rivian trucks on site driving passengers to the launch.
The company may go public this year with a valuation of over $50 billion, note unnamed sources speaking with Reuters.
The automaker recently told Canadian Tesla North reader @4runnersrule its R1S SUV will deliver to Canada in November 2021.
Hi @4runnersrule. The R1S configured with our Launch Edition trim will begin to deliver to our Canadian community in November 2021, with Adventure and Explore trims delivering in January 2022. Your first electric adventure is just around the corner; it's time to start planning!
— Rivian (@Rivian) July 20, 2021
As for when Rivian will actually deliver vehicles, that’s another matter, as COVID-19 has delayed the launch. The R1T truck was slated for July but was pushed to September, while the R1S has been delayed to the fall. Yesterday Rivan announced it would be launching its charging network in Tennessee state parks.
