Will Rivian manufacture its own batteries eventually?

[Domenick]

This video from Sean Mitchell asks a pretty interesting question: will Rivian, at some point, make its own batteries?



Personally, I think that day be far off, but I respect Sean's opinion here and wouldn't rule it out. With so much else on their plate right now, I don't see it happening for some time unless it actually needs to happen in order to meet the demand for all its vehicle programs. With all the current construction of battery factories by sundry companies, I'm not sure they won't have a decent supply available over the next few years.

 

[EyeOnEVs]

Yep, just caught Sean's video too. Here's my off-the-cuff thoughts on this:

1. Rivian may be a start up but they been around since 2009. Been following this company now for about a year now and my inclination is that the topic of where and how they will get their batteries over this past decade I'm sure has come up internally numerous times. If not, they deserve to have problems. To obvious of a topic (batteries) to overlook and not have a plan for it.
2. Since they like to play things close to the vest, ala stealth mode for years and even now with certain developments, my bet is they have something in the works or at least on paper as part of their business plan.
3. Rivian is leasing out their technology or partnering w/ other companies (rem: they turned down GM because of exclusivity) which I believe has been part of their business plan all along. So I can't see how they could not account for this influx of work and requirement for supplies, including the batteries.
4. Rivian has said multiple times they have been following Tesla closely, learning what to do and what do differently (along with the rest of the industry I'm sure). With that, how could an EV company (Rivian) not scrutinize their EV production plan over and over again making sure it's a well thought out as possible. Again, this appears to be a strong trait of Rivian ... which leads me to
5. With a company mantra of "under promise and over deliver" makes me believe even more Rivian would not (knowingly) put themselves into an over-extended position.

I may be looking at this through rose colored glasses (yes, I'm a pre-order holder) but this company so for hasn't missed a beat, at least not a major one. Sure, that could change but I'm more of a glass half full type of person. It will definitely be interesting to see how this all unfolds.

 

[Domenick]

Agree 100% with your point that they've probably spent a fair amount of time on this question.

I guess a lot of this could come down to how vertically integrated the company thinks would work best. It's a more capital-intensive approach, and it makes less sense for established industries. But in this space, it can pay off in many ways.

Rimac Automobili is a good example of this. Forced to make their own technology because they couldn't afford to buy it (or couldn't find it), they now make a lot more money selling the tech they developed rather than the cars they originally developed the tech for.