Rivian unveils new SUVs, scraps Georgia plant to cut costs amid strong demand and market boost
• Tesla rival Rivian unveiled new R2 SUV and smaller, cheaper R3 compact SUV models, boosting its market value by over $1.7B • Rivian is halting plans for $5B Georgia factory to cut costs "massively", will produce new models at existing Illinois plant • Move saves Rivian over $2.25B in capital expenditures, relieves pressure to raise capital as it has enough cash to produce R2 • Rivian took 68,000 reservations for R2 in under 24 hours, showing strong demand for more affordable $45K model • Remains to be seen if Rivian's stock boost is a blip or turning point, as it still loses money on each vehicle and faces EV sales slowdown