Rivian has renegotiated its loan with the Department of Energy and now plans to secure $4.5 billion, reduced from the original $6.6 billion, to construct its new Georgia factory. The company announced it will access the loan earlier than expected, in early 2027, and aims to increase the Georgia plant’s capacity from 200,000 to 300,000 vehicles during its initial phase, signaling strong expectations for the R2 SUV.
The increased capacity represents a 50% boost over previous plans, potentially lowering per-unit costs and allowing room for future expansion. Part of the factory’s output will be dedicated to producing R2 robotaxis for Uber. In a recent agreement, Uber invested $300 million in Rivian and will purchase 10,000 autonomous R2 robotaxis, with plans to deploy them in San Francisco and Miami by 2028. The investment is expected to wrap up in the second quarter, with an additional $250 million coming later this year.
Uber can opt to buy up to 40,000 more R2 SUVs from Rivian starting in 2030, committing up to $1.25 billion through 2031, contingent upon certain milestones. Rivian began groundwork on the Georgia site last year, now progressing into vertical construction, with vehicle production slated for late 2028. Until then, R2 SUVs will be produced at the Normal, Illinois, plant.
Despite tornado damage to the plant, Rivian began R2 production and has started employee deliveries, with customer deliveries planned soon. Recent adjustments to the DOE loan were disclosed alongside Rivian’s Q1 2026 financials, showing $1.38 billion in revenue, with $908 million from vehicles and $473 million from software and services. Automotive revenue fell 2% year-over-year, partly due to regulatory credit decline.
Rivian reported a $416 million loss in the quarter, improved from last year’s $541 million loss, aided by a $506 million gain from other income related to the Series A raise and deconsolidation of CEO RJ Scaringe’s Mind Robotics startup. Operating expenses and R&D costs rose, with R&D spending up 20% to $458 million, focusing on R2 pre-production, software, and autonomous vehicle tech development. Rising costs and capital expenditures impacted the negative free cash flow of $1 billion, almost doubling from the previous year.