Tesla rival gets $1.3 billion boost, including cash from Amazon

Rivian’s electric pickup truck and SUV haven’t come out yet, but Amazon and other investors keep pouring money into the Tesla competitor. 

On Monday, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe announced it raised a whopping $1.3 billion, with investments from Amazon, Ford, and investment firms. This follows the Amazon-led $700 million investment round back in February.

Rivian wouldn’t disclose how much of the $1.3 billion was from Amazon. Amazon previously announced plans to convert its delivery fleet to 100,000 Rivian electric vans by 2022.

The truck and SUV start at $69,000 with only preorders available now. 

The funding news comes as fellow U.S.-based electric vehicle company Tesla hit a $420 stock price. 

Cue the marijuana jokes.

Rivian is expected to start delivering its R1T truck and R1S SUV vehicles by the end of 2020. Like Tesla, Rivian is building its 400-mile range vehicles in the U.S. But instead of California, Rivian bought an old factory in Normal, Illinois. 

The Rivian truck, while less cyberpunk and more outdoor adventure oriented, should beat Tesla’s Cybertruck to market. But the Cybertruck only requires a $100 pre-order. Rivian’s is $1,000.