Fledgling automaker Rivian, which you may have heard made quite a splash on entry into the stock market recently, is scheduled to begin deliveries of its R1S SUV at the turn of 2022. However, reports came out on Wednesday that those deliveries would be postponed until the period from May to July. Those reports mentioned that the manufacturer had begun to notify people who had reserved the all-electric utility model, the second vehicle developed by Rivian after the R1T pickup.
The news sent Rivian's stock down 4.2 percent midweek, and it closed on Wednesday at $114.85. On Friday afternoon, it stood at $112.13.
Rivian did not immediately comment on the reports. Since then, however, it requested that the GreenCarReports website make a small correction in its report. The model, which is scheduled to go into production in December, will indeed be delivered to buyers starting in January. Only a few customers are affected by a delay.
This is reassuring for investors who have just turned massively to this new company, bringing its market value to some $100 billion. Rivian plans to build a second plant in the U.S. and open others in Europe and China. It’s not known where or when the second U.S. facility will be built, however.
Earlier this year, we reported that the company had reserved a dozen names for possible use on future vehicles, so there's no doubt about its goals. It remains to be seen if those goals will become reality, but the next year will go some ways to deciding the matter. If the R1T pickup and R1S SUV do well, who knows what the limits are? Just ask Tesla.