Prediction Partly held up
Scaringe: Rivian has sufficient capital to reach positive free cash flow
“That's not only enough capital to launch R two and normal, but it's enough capital to launch our second R two plant in Georgia and take us through positive free cashflow.”
Opinion
Scaringe: Musk's relationship with Trump is helpful for vehicle electrification
“Tesla and Elon, ah, having a relationship with President Trump is actually helpful to electrification. It's certainly going to provide the perspective of, ah, the importance of EVs.”
Opinion
Scaringe: Only Rivian and Tesla have massively consolidated vehicle computer architectures
“I think there's really two companies in the world that have this level of vertical integration and an architecture that's used. Hardware consolidation to massively simplify the topology of computers, which is us and Tesla, of course.”
Opinion
Scaringe: The US power grid cannot simultaneously sustain EV, AI, and crypto
“Is our grid in good enough shape to sustain all these at once?
RJ Scaringe: Absolutely not.
No, no.
It's I mean, that's the thing that makes this such a unique moment in time.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Scaringe: AI's massive energy demand will drive reinvestment in nuclear power
“I do think nuclear is gonna play a role, and you joked about it, but with the growth of AI and the energy needs for that, there's going to be, I think, reinvestment in that technology.”
Disclosure
Scaringe: Rivian will never consider building a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
“So we Rivian would never consider building a plug-in hybrid.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Scaringe: Automakers retreating from EVs will be severely challenged by 2030
“In the long term you know, car companies that back off their electrification strategies are going to find them, find themselves in a really challenged position as it gets out to 20, 30 and beyond where the pure play folks like us or Tesla, Have had no other ch…”
Assertion Contradicted
Scaringe: Rivian R1S is the best-selling premium SUV in California
“The R one S is actually the best selling premium SUV in the state of California, not the best selling premium electric SUV, the best selling premium SUV period in California across the whole U S it's the best selling premium electric vehicle.”
Prediction Open · timeframe Nov 2027
Scaringe: Porsches and Audis will run Rivian computers and software within years
“If you're driving a Porsche or an Audi a few years from now, it will have Rivian computers in it. And those Rivian computers will be running Rivian software, but the way it drives the, what it looks like on the screen, internal combustion versus electric. Yeah…”
Assertion Partly supported
Scaringe: Rivian cut its bill of materials costs over 20% in 2024
“We've negotiated more than 20% savings just between Q one and Q four of this year out of our bill of materials.”
Prediction Open · timeframe Nov 2029
Scaringe: Lithium-ion battery recycling rates will eventually reach nearly 100%
“I would say unequivocally, the recycling rate on lithium-ion batteries will be
You're very near a hundred percent, 99.9%, maybe 99.99%.”
Opinion
Scaringe: Plug-in hybrids are a distracting intermediate technology for automakers
“Well, I just, I think it's a distracting intermediate technology that I, it, It's unfortunate because I think it's, yes, I can understand for a consumer, it's maybe a smaller bridge, but it's, for a manufacturer, it's going to cause them to spend a lot of time…”
Disclosure
Scaringe: Rivian's $5.8B VW joint venture excludes batteries, autonomy, and drivetrains
“So the deal is just for the, basically our computer architecture. So our East, what we call ECU electronic control units, and then the software that runs on them, it's, it doesn't include batteries, drive train. It also doesn't include autonomy. It doesn't inc…”
Insight
Scaringe: Developing autonomy is mandatory for any serious automaker
“I'd say the autonomy, if you're serious about being a player in automotive, It's not like a choice. It's so fundamental to the future of transportation.”
Assertion Supported
Scaringe: Rivian's Gen 2 features the most camera megapixels outside China
“So we have 55 megapixels of cameras on our vehicle. It's the largest number of megapixels on in outside of China.”
Assertion Supported
Scaringe: Rivian's zonal architecture eliminates up to 95% of vehicle microcomputers
“And it's much cheaper because you cut out 90, 95% of the computers in the car, you have a much smaller number of more powerful computers and they do a lot of things. And so that's what we've that's what we built.”
Assertion Partly supported
Scaringe: Tesla possesses a highly profitable automotive service division
“Tesla's a great example of this. One of the big tailwinds they have is they have a great, highly profitable service arm.”
Disclosure
Scaringe: Rivian and most EV companies are engineering cobalt out of batteries
“Most companies, certainly Rivian included, are working to engineer cobalt out of the batteries.”
Disclosure
Scaringe: Rivian R2 starts at $45,000, R3 priced considerably lower
“So the goal, of course, with the lower price product is to take that market share success that we've had and apply it to a much, much larger audience with a price point that with R two starts at 45 and then with R three starts considerably lower than that.”
Disclosure
Scaringe: Rivian employs more software engineers than mechanical engineers
“Rivian is more software engineers than any other type of engineer. You know, you have more software engineers than mechanical engineers.”
RJ Scaringe