Tesla Has Best EV Under $50K, Rivian CEO Says In Praise Of Rival: 'It's A Great Brand'

The Tesla Inc TSLA Model Y is gaining new praise from the head of a rival automaker.

What Happened: The Tesla Model Y passed several milestones over the last year as the vehicle became the bestselling vehicle globally in 2023 and the top-selling electric vehicle of all time.

While the vehicle has attracted many buyers, the Tesla Model Y also draws praise from rivals.

Rivian Automotive RIVN CEO RJ Scaringe offered praise for Tesla, while also hoping that another Tesla doesn't rise up to take more market share.

"The world doesn't need another one of those," Scaringe said of Tesla, as reported by InsideEVs. "We think Tesla has done an amazing job. It's a great brand; they have great products."

Scaringe answered "yes" to the Model Y being the best electric vehicle under $50,000 available today. The comments came during a roundtable at the LA Auto Show.

The Rivian CEO said there are "less than five highly competitive choices" among the electric vehicles that sell for under $50,000.

This might explain some of the reason that Rivian is focusing on launching new vehicles like the R2 and R3, which are expected to start at under $50,000. The current Rivian vehicles R1T and R1S have starting prices above the $50,000 level.

While Rivian and Tesla are rivals today, Scaringe has also owned a Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, according to the report.

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Why It's Important: The praise for Tesla from Scaringe comes as reports say the two companies are nearing a settlement over accusations that Rivian hired old Tesla employees to obtain proprietary data.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has offered praise for Rivian in the past, while also expressing concern that the company will go bankrupt.

"I hope they do well," Musk previously said of Rivian. "The car industry is a very difficult industry. There's only two U.S. car companies that haven't gone bankrupt and that's Ford and Tesla. Rivian's going to have a hard time."

The comments came when Musk was asked why Tesla hasn't considered acquiring Rivian. Based on the comments, it doesn't look like Tesla will acquire Rivian anytime soon. Tesla has often limited its acquisitions to companies that help with technology or the supply chain of the company's electric vehicles.

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