Rivian, an electric-vehicle startup backed by Amazon.com Inc AMZN and Ford Motor Co F, on Tuesday kept its date to begin R1T deliveries in September, racing past key rivals Tesla Inc TSLA, General Motors Co GM and Ford in bringing an electric pickup to market.
What Happened: Rivian’s founder and CEO RJ Scaringe took to Twitter on Tuesday to reveal that the company’s first R1T pickup for a customer drove off the assembly line from its manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois.
Scaringe also shared four photographs showing employees and customers welcoming the rollout as the trucks rolled out of the assembly line.
“After months of building pre-production vehicles, this morning our first customer vehicle drove off our production line in Normal!,” Scaringe said on Twitter.
Rivian, which is reportedly looking to set up a second manufacturing plant, likely in Texas, has confidentially for an initial public offering with the SEC and is said to be aiming for a valuation of around $80 billion.
See Also: Tesla EV Rival Rivian Said To Tell Buyers It's On Track For September Deliveries
Why It Matters: Late last month, Scaringe told customers that Rivian is finally on track to begin deliveries in September, previously expected in July. R1S deliveries have been pushed back to fall.
Despite the delays, Rivian is ahead of electric vehicle market leader Tesla, led by Elon Musk, and legacy rivals Ford and GM, which have announced their own pickup truck launch plans.
Price Action: Ford shares closed 0.96% lower at $12.86 on Tuesday, those of Tesla 0.20% higher at $744.49.
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Photo: Courtesy of Rivian
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