Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
Overview
Rivian exists to create products and services that help our planet transition to carbon neutral energy and transportation. Rivian designs, develops, and manufactures category-defining electric vehicles (“EVs”) and accessories and sells them directly to customers in the consumer and commercial markets. Rivian complements its vehicles with a full suite of proprietary, value-added services that address the entire lifecycle of the vehicle and deepen its customer relationships.
Starting with a clean sheet, we built a vertically integrated ecosystem comprised of our vehicle technology platform, cloud architecture, product development and operations, products, and services. Interconnected by our data and analytics backbone, our ecosystem is designed to deliver fast-paced innovation cycles, structural cost advantages, and exceptional customer experiences.
Our Products and Services
Consumer Vehicles
Engineered for all of life’s adventures, our Electric Adventure Vehicles combine performance, utility, and efficiency. In the consumer market, we launched the R1 platform with our first generation of consumer vehicles: the R1T, a two-row, five-passenger pickup truck, and the R1S, a three-row, seven-passenger sport utility vehicle (“SUV”).
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R1T
The R1T is a category-defining electric pickup truck, providing a combination of performance, utility, and capability without compromising on sustainability. The R1T is capable of carrying five passengers and large loads with a bed that is 54 inches long with the tailgate up (84 inches long with tailgate down) and 50 inches wide.
R1S
The R1S is a large format all-electric SUV, with enough space to comfortably fit up to seven passengers and their gear. Utilizing the same battery, propulsion, and chassis systems as the R1T, R1S customers can expect the same combination of on- and off-road performance.
The R1T and R1S are equipped with a proprietary set of advanced technology systems, including vehicle electronics, battery, electric drive, chassis, Driver+, our advanced driver assistance system (“ADAS”), and digital user experience management. These technologies can continuously improve and expand functionality through cloud-enabled over-the-air (“OTA”) updates.
The R1T and R1S introduced our brand to the world and serve as our flagship vehicles as we continue to expand our offerings. To accompany our vehicles, we have developed a comprehensive portfolio of vehicle accessories that further sharpen our brand’s focus on adventure and active lifestyles.
Consumer Services
Complementing our consumer vehicles, our current suite of value-added services includes digitally enabled financing, telematics-based insurance, proactive vehicle service (maintenance and repair), software services, and charging solutions. These services will generate long-term brand loyalty while also creating a recurring revenue stream for each vehicle across its lifecycle.
Charging Solutions
We are providing charging solutions that include Rivian Adventure Network Direct Current fast charging sites (“Rivian Adventure Network”) and Rivian Waypoints chargers. Our solutions are designed to be cost effective and aim to deliver clean energy to our customers while offering a convenient and seamless charging experience. In addition, our vehicles use the Combined Charging Standard (“CCS”) connection which enables our customers to leverage other nationwide networks.
Commercial Vehicles
In the commercial market, we launched the Rivian Commercial Vehicle (“RCV”) platform, which underpins the Electric Delivery Van (“EDV”), designed and engineered by Rivian in collaboration with Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, “Amazon”), our first commercial customer. The EDV is a long-range, electric commercial step-in van designed for large-scale production and deployment in a centrally managed fleet. Amazon has ordered an initial volume of 100,000 vehicles globally, subject to modification.
Developed to be comfortable and easy to operate for drivers, our commercial vehicles are designed to achieve lower total cost of ownership (“TCO”) for customers while supporting a path to carbon neutral deliveries.
EDV-700
The EDV-700 is the 700 cubic foot version of the EDV. The vehicle’s design is optimized for last mile delivery use cases and includes a rear roll-up door ideal for warehouse bulk loading, which eliminates cargo area side doors that would otherwise consume valuable precious cargo storage. The vehicle’s features also include an integrated automatic bulkhead door designed for safety and security, a tall roof to allow drivers to walk through the vehicle, driver-centric ergonomics creating space for package handling, and a curb-side sliding door designed for ease of package handling and safe vehicle access away from traffic.
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EDV-500
The EDV-500 is a narrower and shorter version of the EDV-700 and an important vehicle for expanding to markets and geographies for which smaller form factors are better suited.
Commercial Services
Alongside our commercial vehicles, we offer FleetOS, our proprietary, end-to-end centralized fleet management subscription platform. It encompasses vehicle distribution, service, telematics, software services, charging, connectivity management, Driver+, and lifecycle management. Building upon this foundation, FleetOS is designed to support more features over time, including leasing, financing, insurance, driver safety and coaching, smart charging and routing, remote diagnostics, 360° collision reports, and vehicle resale. This cloud-based platform integrates and analyzes vehicle, infrastructure, and operations data, driving us toward industry-leading TCO, safety, and fleet utilization.
The Rivian Ecosystem
Our direct-to-customer model allows us to manage all sales, deliveries, service operations, and resales in-house, without reliance on a franchise dealership network or other third parties. We employ an integrated, digital-first strategy that is not only convenient and transparent for our customers, but also efficient and scalable to support our continued growth. Our website and mobile app facilitate brand engagement, product discovery, demonstration drives, purchase transactions, vehicle deliveries, vehicle service, account management, and resale. We believe this strategy will allow us to deliver uncompromised experiences well beyond what is available through the standard franchise dealership model.
Each element of our ecosystem has been designed from a clean sheet, resulting in end-to-end integration across a range of complementary offerings. Our proprietary technology platform is the foundation of our ecosystem and is comprised of two interconnected elements: vehicle technology and Rivian Cloud. This highly extensible platform will allow us to tailor our offerings to serve both the consumer and commercial markets, powering our products and complementary services. Our product development and operations infrastructure are deeply integrated with our technology platform, making it easier to deliver on our ambitions. The Rivian ecosystem consists of the following components:
• Vehicle Technology . A secure, reliable, scalable combination of hardware and software, connecting our proprietary in-vehicle systems, including vehicle electronics, battery, electric drive, chassis, Driver+, and experience management.
• Rivian Cloud . Our architecture of interconnected software applications designed to deliver seamless, end-to-end digital commerce solutions and experiences across web, mobile, and app. Rivian Cloud enables FleetOS, remote diagnostics, OTA software updates, and remote vehicle controls, including vehicle access.
• Product Development and Operations . Our vertically integrated product development and operations functions include design, development, manufacturing, sales, delivery, service, and charging. These functions serve the unique needs of our consumer and commercial customers.
• Products and Accessories . Our consumer portfolio is comprised of category-defining vehicles that reimagine the pickup truck and SUV segments. We entered the commercial market with long-range electric step-in vans developed for large-scale production. The EDV is designed to lower TCO, improve uptime, and facilitate Amazon progressing in its commitment to net zero carbon operations. We expect our products and accessories to provide access to new markets and bring new customers into our ecosystem.
• Services . We offer highly tailored and differentiated services that enable seamless and intuitive experiences throughout the entire customer lifecycle. We expect this holistic approach to drive higher customer satisfaction, create strong brand loyalty, and increase operational efficiency while simultaneously allowing us to capture a greater share of the full lifecycle value of every Rivian vehicle produced.
• Data and Analytics . Our ecosystem is interconnected by our proprietary data and analytics backbone housed in Rivian Cloud. It is comprised of a centralized data lake and analytics tools, providing valuable insights that can be applied to continuously improve ecosystem-wide performance, functionality, and uptime to drive increased customer satisfaction.
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Our ecosystem is designed to be highly scalable, flexible, integrated, and interconnected to power an immersive customer journey. This will enable us to maximize our impact by addressing both the consumer and commercial markets simultaneously. We can deploy our offerings at scale using a shared, vertically integrated technology platform, comprised of vehicle technology and Rivian Cloud, with network effects that will build data insights to improve our ecosystem. By utilizing our common technology platform, we generate synergies and scale efficiencies, enabling us to increase our pace of innovation and create offerings that serve the unique needs of our customers. Our direct-to-customer relationships and connected vehicle technologies allow us to gather customer and product insights over the full lifecycle of our vehicles. We will utilize these insights to continuously improve our offerings by adding new capabilities and functionality. Enhanced offerings will attract more customers, deepen existing customer relationships, and expand our data repository and insights, which will further benefit our customers and Rivian.
Manufacturing
We currently manufacture all vehicles on the R1 and RCV platforms at our manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois (“Normal Factory”), which is equipped to produce up to 150,000 vehicles annually when the equipment is operated at full rate and on multiple shifts. This annual installed capacity is currently comprised of approximately 65,000 vehicles for the R1 platform and 85,000 vehicles for the RCV platform. In addition, we have announced plans to construct a second manufacturing facility near Atlanta, Georgia with an anticipated capacity to produce 400,000 vehicles annually. We plan to build the plant in two phases, each consisting of 200,000 units of annual capacity. We plan to produce our next generation consumer vehicle platform, the R2, at this facility.
Supply Chain
We procure materials and components from hundreds of suppliers across the globe that we work closely with to bring our vehicles to market.
Our supplier selection process is based on a wide variety of factors, including technical expertise, product quality, cost, and location. With many suppliers, our relationship extends beyond the procurement of raw materials and components as we collaborate through the development process. We believe these strategic partnerships have led to pricing and timing advantages in the development of our vehicles.
Our products contain thousands of parts that we purchase from hundreds of mostly single- or limited-source suppliers, for which no immediate or readily-available alternative supplier exists. In order to mitigate risks related to a single source of supply, we qualify alternative suppliers and manufacturers when possible, and develop contingency plans for responding to disruptions, such as carrying higher inventory levels where possible. Despite these actions, we have faced and may still continue to face, challenges with various manufacturing-related component shortages, especially as our suppliers scale their operations to match our vehicle ramp rate.
Seasonality
Historically, the automotive industry has experienced higher revenue in the spring and summer months. Additionally, we expect volumes of commercial vehicle sales to be less in the winter months, as customers shift their focus to making last mile deliveries during holidays, rather than incorporating more vehicles into their fleet. We do not expect such seasonality in demand to significantly impact our operations in the near-term as we scale our business due to our backlog of preorders; however, we may experience seasonal variations in our business in the long-term.
Competition
We aspire to drive meaningful change in the world’s transition to sustainable mobility. We believe multiple industry tailwinds such as regulatory support and shifting consumer demand will continue to drive a transition from legacy internal combustion engine (“ICE”) vehicles to EVs. We believe the primary competitive factors in our markets are talent and culture, technological innovation, product performance and quality, customer experience, brand differentiation, product design, pricing and TCO, and manufacturing scale and efficiency.
Our competition includes the millions of traditional ICE vehicles and EVs sold each year in the consumer and commercial markets. Our competitive set also represents our total addressable market (“TAM”) which we aim to target over the long term with an expanded product portfolio in our current and future geographies.
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As we participate across the spectrum of the consumer and commercial value chain, our competition extends beyond providers that operate in the capacity of an original equipment manufacturer or dealer. Downstream competitors include a collection of third parties such as charging providers, vehicle service providers, vehicle remarketers, and traditional fleet management companies.
Across the automotive value chain, we believe our vertically integrated business model and technology platform, focus on customer experience, direct-to-customer relationships, and ability to efficiently launch multiple vehicle platforms position us to compete effectively.
Regulatory
Environmental, Health and Safety Matters
Certain of our operations, properties, and products are subject to stringent and comprehensive federal, state, and local laws and regulations governing matters related to environmental protection, occupational health and safety, and the release or discharge of materials into the environment, including air emissions and wastewater discharges. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the assessment of administrative, civil and criminal penalties, the imposition of investigatory and remedial obligations and the issuance of orders enjoining some or all of our operations in affected areas.
We are also subject to permitting, registration, and other government approval requirements under environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations applicable in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Those requirements obligate us to obtain permits, registrations, and other government approvals from one or more governmental agencies to conduct our operations and sell our products. The requirements vary depending on the location where our regulated activities are conducted.
The following summarizes certain existing environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations applicable to our operations and products. For additional information, see Part I, Item 1A. “ Risk Factors .”
Regulations in the United States of America (“United States”)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) Safety and Self-Certification Obligations . As a manufacturer of EVs, our vehicles are subject to, and must comply with, numerous regulatory requirements established by NHTSA, including all applicable United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (“Safety Standards”). Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, we must certify that our vehicles meet all applicable Safety Standards, as well as the NHTSA bumper standard, or are otherwise exempt from such standards. The categories of Safety Standards that apply to our vehicles include crashworthiness requirements, crash avoidance requirements, and EV requirements. The R1T, R1S, and EDV are fully compliant with all such Safety Standards and other NHTSA requirements without the need for any additional exemptions.
We are also required to comply with or demonstrate exemptions from other requirements of federal laws administered by NHTSA, including the Federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (“CAFE”) standards, Theft Prevention Act requirements, consumer information labeling requirements, Early Warning Reporting requirements regarding warranty claims, field reports, death and injury reports and foreign recalls, and owner’s manual requirements. The R1T, R1S and EDV are fully compliant with or exempted from compliance with the foregoing referenced standards. Rivian also has a system in place to ensure compliance with all reporting obligations to NHTSA.
The Automobile Information and Disclosure Act requires manufacturers of motor vehicles to disclose certain information regarding the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, optional equipment, and pricing. In addition, the Automobile Information and Disclosure Act allows inclusion of city and highway fuel economy ratings, as determined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), as well as crash test ratings as determined by NHTSA if such tests are conducted.
• EPA Certificate of Conformity and California Executive Order . The Clean Air Act requires that we obtain both an EPA-issued Certificate of Conformity and a California Air Resources Board (“CARB”)-issued Executive Order with respect to emissions for our vehicles, and include labeling providing consumer information such as miles per gallon of gas-equivalent ratings and maximum range on a single charge. The R1T, R1S, and EDV have received EPA Certificates of Conformity and California Executive Orders for model years 2022 and 2023.
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• Battery Safety and Testing. Our battery pack conforms to mandatory regulations that govern transport of “dangerous goods,” defined to include lithium-ion batteries, which may present a risk in transportation. Governing regulations, issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, are based on the United Nations (“UN”) Recommendations and Model Regulations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, as well as related UN Manual of Tests and Criteria. The regulations vary by mode of shipping transportation, such as by ocean vessel, rail, truck, or air. We have completed the applicable transportation tests for our prototype and production battery packs, demonstrating our compliance with the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria.
We also subject our battery packs to selected tests specified in the Society of Automotive Engineers (“SAE”) J2464 and J2929 standards, as well as tests defined by other standards and regulatory bodies and Rivian’s own internal tests. These tests evaluate battery function and performance as well as resilience to conditions including immersion, humidity, fire, and other potential hazards. We currently use lithium metal oxide cells in our high voltage battery packs. Our battery packs include certain packaging materials that contain trace amounts of hazardous chemicals whose use, storage, and disposal is regulated under federal and state laws.
If a customer wishes to dispose of a battery pack from one of our vehicles, we will accept the depleted battery without any additional charge.
• Right to Repair . We are also subject to certain laws and regulations, e.g., “Right to Repair,” laws, that would require us to provide third-party access to our network and/or vehicle systems.
Emission Credit Programs
As a manufacturer devoted to the design, development, and production of all-electric, battery-powered vehicles, we will generate credits from regulatory mandates that we can monetize through sale to other manufacturers. For example, in connection with the delivery and placement into service of our zero-emission vehicles in California and a number of other states that have adopted the California standards applicable to light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles, we have earned and will continue to earn tradable light-duty and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle (“ZEV”) credits that can be monetized.
In addition to state level credits, the EPA and NHTSA also mandate minimum greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and CAFE standards applicable to light- and heavy-duty vehicles. Under the Biden Administration, a final rule was issued in late 2021 that increased the stringency of these standards. These federal regulations require that manufacturers of light- and heavy-duty vehicles meet minimum standards pertaining to GHG emissions and fuel economy based on a vehicle’s footprint or overall dimensions. As the first manufacturer to produce zero-emission vehicles of this larger footprint at scale, we expect to generate substantial GHG and CAFE credits, and to benefit financially from these regulations. In addition, in 2022, the EPA reinstated California’s ability to establish its own emission standards in lieu of the federal standards. As a result, California regulators extended the Advanced Clean Cars rule for model years 2026 through 2035. These standards, which as many as 17 other states have also adopted, are more stringent than federal requirements, thus providing additional credit generating opportunities for Rivian through potential sales of those credits by the Company.
Automobile Manufacturer and Dealer Regulation
State laws regulate the manufacture, distribution, sale, and service (including delivery) of automobiles, and generally require motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers to be licensed in order to sell vehicles directly to customers in the state. As of December 31, 2022, 25 states and the District of Columbia permit us, as a manufacturer of motor vehicles, to apply for and receive a dealer license to conduct vehicle sales, provided we meet certain requirements. Once licensed in one or more of these 25 states, we may sell our vehicles to any consumer in the United States as a matter of interstate commerce. By contrast, 25 states restrict our ability to obtain a dealer license to sell within those states. To sell vehicles to residents of states where we do not have a license or are unable to be licensed due to our status as a manufacturer, we must conduct the sale out of state over the internet or telephonically. Rivian currently has dealer licenses to sell vehicles directly in four states. We also have pending applications for dealer licenses to sell vehicles in another five states.
Automobile Manufacturer Regulation in Canada
Our vehicles available for sale in the Canadian market are subject to environmental and safety certifications administered by the appropriate Canadian regulatory authorities, including, but not limited to Transport Canada and Environment Canada. We
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have obtained all required national certifications to enable sales in Canada for 2022 and 2023. Unlike the United States, there are no impediments to a manufacturer applying for and receiving a dealer license to perform sales and service, however, we must obtain the necessary provincial licenses to enable sales and service in each location. We have these licenses in British Columbia and are in the process of obtaining the remaining licenses in the other provinces of Canada.
Federal and State Incentives in the United States
As of December 31, 2022, incentives in the United States included:
• United States Federal Tax Credits. The Qualified Plug-In Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Tax Credit program instituted by the United States government provides a tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles. In August 2022, Congress modified section 30D (“30D”) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) by limiting the tax credit to electric trucks, SUVs and vans priced below $80,000 and imposing certain income restrictions for taxpayer eligibility to receive the 30D tax credit. Eligibility for the 30D tax credit is also contingent on (i) the vehicle’s final assembly occurring in North America, (ii) the vehicle having a certain percentage of the battery’s critical minerals originating from a United States free trade agreement partner or being recycled in North America, and (iii) the vehicle having a certain percentage of its battery’s components being manufactured or assembled in North America. Moreover, if a vehicle battery’s critical minerals were extracted, processed or recycled by a “foreign entity of concern,” such as China or Russia, the 30D tax credit would not apply. Congress also added a new provision to the Code under section 45W (“45W”) that provides an incentive of between $7,500 and $40,000 depending on the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and incremental cost increase between the electric commercial vehicle and a comparable internal combustion engine equipped vehicle. Unlike the consumer tax credit under 30D, there are no price limits, income caps, manufacturing mandates or content restrictions.
In addition to 30D and 45W, Congress also extended the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit under section 30C (“30C”) to tax credits for businesses up to 30% of the cost of installing alternative fueling equipment in eligible census tracts, up to $100,000. Consumers who purchased residential fueling equipment but were not eligible to depreciate such equipment may receive a tax credit of up to $1,000 for equipment placed in service after December 31, 2022. The program included electricity as an alternative fuel and potentially could be used by Rivian customers to offset the cost of their home charging systems and by businesses to offset the costs of installing electric vehicle charging stations. Additionally, if Rivian sells such equipment to a tax-exempt entity, Rivian would be eligible to claim the credit for itself. Unused credits may be carried backward one year and carried forward 20 years. The 30C credit was extended until December 31, 2032.
• State Incentives. A number of states and municipalities in the United States, as well as certain private enterprises, offer incentive programs to encourage the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles, including tax exemptions, tax credits, exemptions, and special privileges.
Other states have also implemented various incentives for the purchase of eligible ZEVs based on weight class and propulsion type. For example, New Jersey and Washington exempt the purchase of EVs from state sales tax. California, Colorado, Oregon, and Oklahoma provide substantial state tax credits or rebates for the purchase of EVs. Some of these programs have eligibility limits based on either consumer income or the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the vehicle. Others will supply rebates only until a set aside amount of funding exists. Several states will also be phasing out incentives over time or volume of EVs are sold. Other incentives include preferential parking at reduced rates, or free, or single occupancy high-occupancy vehicle access on highways for EVs.
Intellectual Property
Rivian’s intellectual property is a core asset of our company, and an important tool to drive value and differentiation in our products and services. We protect, use, and defend our intellectual property in support of our business objectives to increase our return on investment, enhance our competitive position, and create shareholder value. Through strategic and business assessments of our intellectual property, we rely on a combination of patents, trade secrets, copyrights, service marks, trademarks, domains, contractual terms, and enforcement mechanisms across various international jurisdictions to establish and protect intellectual property rights related to our current and future business and operations. While we do not believe that any single piece of intellectual property is individually material to the entirety of our business, our intellectual property is important to our operations and development of technologies.
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As of December 31, 2022, we held over 230 granted patents and registrations worldwide, and had filed over 1,600 patent applications with domestic and foreign patent offices. As of December 31, 2022, we had over 1,700 registered trademarks and had filed over 4,600 trademark applications with domestic and foreign trademark offices, had two registered copyrights, and had filed one copyright application with foreign copyright offices.
We will pursue intellectual property protection to the extent we believe it would be advantageous to our business objectives. Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights, they may not be respected in the future or may be invalidated, circumvented, or challenged.
Human Capital
As of December 31, 2022, we had 14,122 employees across North America and Europe. Our global workforce is comprised of engineering and technology teams that are designing and developing future products and services, our operations and go-to-market teams that support the production, sale, and service of our launch vehicles, and our general and administrative teams. Our global footprint will continue to grow as we seek diverse communities to join us on our adventure.
As a team, we strive to Keep The World Adventurous Forever by attracting the right people in the right roles and harnessing their adventurous spirit. Below are our Compass principles: a set of behaviors that serve as the backbone of Rivian’s organizational culture. Compass serves as our guide to ensure we preserve and augment our culture through the people we attract, develop, and inspire.
• Come Together. We never take for granted the magic that occurs when thinkers and doers from different industries and geographies, lived experiences, and perspectives surround a challenge from all sides. So, we insist that our team members bring their authentic selves to work every single day. At times there will be disagreements, but that’s a good thing. Tension strengthens ideas. The scale of our impact rests on our ability to move quickly as one team. We challenge each other to deliver more as a group than we can as individuals - and get it done together. Many of our decisions around vehicle development were built on cross-functional discussion and debates which ultimately required coming together to produce the right outcome.
• Ask Why. Innovation isn’t the job of a small group within the Company. Better ways of doing things are waiting to be discovered, and it’s incumbent upon all of us to approach our work from a place of curiosity. Despite the breadth of objectives and the complexity of our goals, all our ideas begin the same way - from first principles. When we start with undeniable basic truths, it opens up a world of possibility. A first-principles approach enables us to discuss ideas rather than debate different sets of ideologies or dogmas from previous experiences. Every part of the Rivian customer experience is derived from employees continuously asking why and understanding the rationale behind every decision.
• Stay Open. The draw toward the unknown is strong within our team. We must continue to cultivate a willingness to greet uncertainty with open arms, and all the other stuff that comes along with it. Difficult questions. Unexpected turns. Redrawn plans. Gnawed pencils. Temple rubbing. Lots and lots of temple rubbing. When we stay open, hearts stretch, minds grow, new ideas surface and the impossible becomes fun. As our industry rapidly evolves, we don’t stand near existing anchors but instead plan ahead to imagine what this could be.
• Zoom Out . Look up from where you are! We’re part of not one but many interdependent ecosystems, and our actions have ripples across our entire organization and beyond. While it’s easy to get mired in the day-to-day, so focused on the task in front of us, it’s important we never lose sight of what’s at stake or why we started down this path to begin with. As we develop our commercial roadmaps and blueprints, each team curates their share of the Rivian customer experience with a keen awareness of the broader ecosystem.
• Over Deliver. The word forever says it all. Our work is never done and that’s by design. Loving the world means always looking for more ways to do better. We don’t stop at good enough. In order to create the change we seek, we go beyond what is expected of us - respond to the problems of today while intentionally laying the groundwork for a better tomorrow. Multiple product launches and cutting-edge development across domains - over delivery on expectations is a core tenet of our strategy.
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Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
At Rivian, we believe that forever is for EVERYONE and this philosophy is symbiotic with our mission to Keep the World Adventurous Forever. Belonging is the outcome of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It is a cultural imperative, is intentionally woven in all we do, and is a key driver of our values. Belonging is about building cultures, celebrating each other, and fostering communities where we feel a deep sense of connectedness, like we are a part of the larger whole and can thrive in those spaces.
Below are our Operating Principles that anchor all of our work for Belonging:
• Representation Matters. There is undeniable power in representation and attracting, hiring, and retaining diverse talent at all levels is key.
• Diverse Teams are Better Teams. They bring broader perspective and experiences that enable us to innovate and solve big problems.
• Self-Awareness is the Gateway to Learning. Being the bridge to a new way of thinking and working together starts with us as individuals.
• Embedding Equitable Practices is Key. Equity is intentionally built into our broader people and talent processes with clear accountabilities for our leaders.
To support, facilitate, and drive towards the goal of Belonging for all, Rivian continues to develop a full range of internal programs and offerings for our employees. This includes internal mobility, career development, strategic hiring programs, commitments to inclusion through allyship, and learning and development initiatives. In addition, we offer Belonging Resource Groups and other networks which facilitate the opportunity for our communities to come together in conversation, education, moments of celebration, and in times of change. All are welcome.
Our Climate Commitment
Responding effectively to climate change requires collective action and urgency. We believe we have a responsibility and opportunity to play a role in the global economic transition to net zero emissions. We are one of the signatories to The Climate Pledge, through which signatories commit to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. We aim to:
• measure and report our GHG emissions;
• implement decarbonization strategies in line with The Climate Pledge through real business change and innovations, including energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy use, designing for circularity of materials, and other carbon abatement strategies; and
• power charging on the Rivian Adventure Network and Rivian Waypoints Network with 100% renewable energy, which may be achieved by a variety of mechanisms, including, but not limited to, power purchase agreements and the purchase of renewable energy credits.
Our climate commitment is backed by our current focus on applying sustainable practices across several facets of our business:
• Product Development. Rivian’s products are being designed to reduce impact on the environment over their life cycle. This includes looking to incorporate sustainable materials versus conventional, prioritizing energy efficiency, and recycling key materials. We are integrating recycled content, material utilization, and other sustainability metrics directly into the product requirements so impact can be reduced at the earliest stages of design. Advanced diagnostics allow us to identify areas to optimize battery and overall vehicle health which may increase the use phase of our vehicles. We also track and forecast the carbon footprint of design iterations throughout the product development process to provide teams with the ability to integrate sustainability into daily decision-making.
• Operations. Like any company, we use resources to operate. Our goal is to do so efficiently and thoughtfully at our existing facilities and new facilities as we grow and scale our business. Our team is dedicated to measuring our GHG emissions and decarbonizing our operations. Where possible, we utilize energy management systems, purchase recycled and reusable packaging materials, and actively utilize rail across our distribution channels to reduce our
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logistics related carbon footprint. Rivian is pursuing a high performance, energy efficient central thermal building for our future production facility, which will provide higher quality and better operational performance over the life of the system than comparable options. Rivian evaluates operational design decisions through a lens of total cost of ownership to highlight the long-term value of energy reduction strategies for the business. As we expand production capacity at our Normal Factory and build new sites to support our growth, we intend that environmental impact will be a significant factor in our planning. We are making progress on powering our charging network and production facilities with renewable energy.
Forever: Philanthropic Activities and Corporate Giving
At Rivian, we believe sustainable and inclusive business is vital to society, the environment, and humanity’s continued prosperity. Our philanthropic mission is focused on helping to Keep the World Adventurous Forever by preserving the planet for future generations. Through a non-operating private foundation currently seeking 501(c)(3) designation (the “Rivian Foundation”), Forever by Rivian, Inc., a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization (“Forever by Rivian”), and efforts by Rivian directly (collectively, “Forever”), we intend to expand our impact beyond the transportation and energy products and services we make and the associated competition they inspire. We aim for Forever to go further to address climate change and to help preserve the critical biodiversity needed for our planet’s long term survival.
Corporate Information
Rivian Automotive, Inc. was incorporated on March 26, 2015 as a Delaware corporation. Our principal executive offices are located at 14600 Myford Road, Irvine, CA 92606, and our telephone number is (888) 748-4261. Our website address is www.rivian.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute part of this Form 10-K, and the inclusion of our website address in this Form 10-K is an inactive textual reference only.
We have proprietary rights to trademarks, trade names, and service marks appearing in this Form 10-K that are important to our business. Solely for convenience, the trademarks, trade names, and service marks may appear in this Form 10-K without the ®, ™, and ℠ symbols, but any such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we forgo or will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensors to these trademarks, trade names, and service marks. All trademarks, trade names, and service marks appearing in this Form 10-K are the property of their respective owners.
Available Information
The Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the “Exchange Act”, are available, free of charge, on our Investor Relations website at https://rivian.com/investors as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The SEC maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy, information statements and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC. We use our Investor Relations website as a means of disclosing material information. Accordingly, investors should monitor our Investor Relations website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, and public conference calls and webcasts.