Rivian CEO Speaks Out on Climate Change

The fight against global climate change has a strong and influential new leader. Robert Joseph “RJ” Scaringe is an American entrepreneur and engineer, and the founder and CEO of electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian. Scaringe released this informative video about the very harmful effects of global climate change. In the video, Scaringe explains how electric vehicles (EVs) are very important to mitigate the effects of this unprecedented and very dangerous problem, threatening the globe and humanity’s survival in a wide variety of ways.

Video Transcript

We, as a society right now, happen to be alive at this massive inflection point for our planet, perhaps one of the most significant moments in recorded human history.

We’ve witnessed our species develop technology and industrialized capabilities that were unimaginable just a few hundred years ago.

But we’re also able to witness and be part of arguably one of the most important transitions as we move to a world that runs without the need for fossil fuels. I grew up a massive car enthusiast and loved everything about cars, the way they felt, the idea of driving them, the freedom they afforded.

As I got older, I realized that these things I loved so much that were so critical for our progress as society were simultaneously the root of the impact they’re having on our climate and the role that they’re playing in the re-carbonization of our atmosphere.

Our atmosphere looks the way it does today as a result of many, many, many millions of years of carbon being captured and sequestered from the atmosphere into largely plants and to a much lesser degree animals and buried in the crust of the earth and ultimately converting into fossil fuels, coal, natural gas, petroleum.

And our society in just a few generations has taken what accumulated over hundreds of millions of years and reinserted that CO2 back into the atmosphere by burning these fossil fuels in just over 150 years.

And the difference in time scales is staggering. We’re at the very beginning of seeing the impacts of that. We’re seeing it in the form of much higher temperatures on the surface of the earth. We’re seeing it in the form of much more aggressive storms and weather patterns. This is still early days, but it’s going to make the planet less inhabitable, not just us as a human species, but we’re seeing it accelerate the rate of extinction on our planet to a level that’s never before been seen.

This is the moment where we have a choice. When one imagines what the history books will look like 2,000 years from now, they’re going to look back and there’s going to be this little blip, which is likely called the fossil fuel era. And it’ll talk about a couple of hundred years of human history where we as a planet rapidly industrialized, built amazing technologies, but also developed this deep dependency on fossil fuels.

And then hopefully the history books read that we developed new technologies to move off of fossil fuels before we put all that carbon back into the atmosphere. The scale of this challenge means that we need to begin making these changes now and we need to begin working towards ever increasing renewable content on our grid.

We need to replace the roughly one and a half billion combustion powered vehicles on our planet with electric vehicles, but also know that on the path to the end state, we’re going to have solutions that are imperfect, but we need to start. And the exciting thing with electric vehicles is they get cleaner over time.

As we remove carbon from our grid and replace it with fossil fuel free energy, the vehicle becomes cleaner and more efficient over its life. We need to protect our only home to ensure that the gift of such a diverse and such a beautiful planet that’s so unique is maintained. It’s a world that we can continue to explore and to continue to enjoy for generations to come for our kids and for their kids’ kids’ kids. For forever.

Rivian, One of the New Leaders of the EV Industry

Rivian, an American electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer founded in 2009 by RJ Scaringe, specializes in producing adventure-oriented electric SUVs and trucks. Known for their rugged capabilities, Rivian’s flagship models, the R1T pickup and R1S SUV, debuted at the 2018 LA Auto Show and began deliveries in 2021. Rivian gained attention by beating competitors to market with the R1T, the first fully electric pickup available to consumers. Rivian also entered a partnership with Amazon in 2019 to create custom electric delivery vans, committing to delivering 100,000 vans by 2030 as part of Amazon’s sustainability initiatives.

In 2021, Rivian went public with a high-profile IPO, briefly achieving a valuation close to $100 billion. Rivian has continued expanding production capacity, with its main manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois, and aims to support broader growth through partnerships and international ventures.

Rivian currently produces a few key electric vehicles, primarily aimed at outdoor and adventure-focused users:

Rivian R1T: This all-electric pickup truck is designed for off-road adventures and practical utility. It offers impressive performance with a long-range battery and robust towing capacity, making it suitable for both rugged terrain and daily use.

Rivian R1S: The R1S is Rivian’s electric SUV, sharing similar features with the R1T but providing additional seating and cargo space for family or group outings. Like the R1T, the R1S is built for off-road capability and is well-suited to challenging environments.

Electric Delivery Van (EDV): Developed in partnership with Amazon, Rivian’s EDV is tailored for urban deliveries with a range of approximately 150-200 miles. Amazon has been deploying these vans across various cities to meet its sustainability goals while scaling up its electric delivery fleet.

Rivian also has future models in development, with the next-generation R2 line, expected to offer more compact and affordable options for urban and adventure-focused buyers.

These models reflect Rivian’s dedication to environmentally conscious vehicles that combine utility with luxury and ruggedness, expanding the choices available in the growing electric vehicle market. For more details, you can visit Rivian’s official site or recent product announcements.

VW and Rivian Joint Venture Launched

Volkswagen and Rivian have finalized their $5.8 billion joint venture, officially launching work on November 13. Named “Rivian and VW Group Technology, LLC,” the collaboration will focus on creating new EV architectures and vehicle software for future models, including compact EVs expected by 2027. The joint venture will be led by Rivian’s Wassym Bensaid and VW’s Carsten Helbing, with a core team based in Palo Alto and additional sites in development across North America and Europe.

EVinfo.net Strongly Recommends Rivian

Up until the release of this video, we were very impressed with Rivian. After seeing the video, we are even more impressed. We believe climate change is the most important issue facing humanity today, and this was the reason for founding EVinfo.net. EVinfo.net offers marketing services to the EV industry.

Scaringe offers a bold new hope and vision we can get behind 1000%. We are looking forward to reporting more on Rivian’s fantastic progress, as it moves closer to the number one EV seller in America, along with GM and Hyundai. In the third quarter of 2024, Kelley Blue Book reported Rivian at 4.4%, Hyundai at 4.2%, and Kia at 4.0%. GM moved up to the #2 EV seller in America in Q3.