Rivian R2 gets $827 million boost as Tesla slips into cost-cutting with internship, Supercharger team cuts

It appears that recent changes in the EV market are causing some disruption to the status quo. Rivian has recently announced a new, more compact R2 SUV, and in order to prepare for the production of the new vehicle, the state of Illinois has given the company an injection of funds to expand its operation.

According to Rivian's press release about the matter, the state of Illinois has granted Rivian an incentive package of $827 million in order to grow its business ahead of the production of the R2 SUV. Rivian plans to use the funds for “expansion of the plant [in Normal, Illinois], improvements in public infrastructure and job training programs for Rivian’s workforce, leading up to the company’s production of its midsized SUV, R2.”

Meanwhile, it seems as though Tesla might be losing its long-held head-start on the EV market as it makes some drastic changes to the business in order to cut costs. Recent reports from Fortune and Reuters indicate that Tesla has not only cut its summer internship program — including internships already granted — but it has also fired the entire Supercharger team, including the executive who ran the department.

In a statement on X, likely responding to the wave of backlash generated by the axing of the Supercharger team, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, said that the company remains committed to existing Supercharger locations, although he also confirmed that growth would slow.

"Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network, just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expansion of existing locations."

Rivian, on the other hand, recently confirmed that it still plans a $5 billion expansion into the state of Georgia, where it had previously planned to build its R2 vehicle factory but had postponed the expansion to accelerate the R2's development.

At the same event where it announced the upcoming R2, Rivian also announced the new R3 and R3X to much excitement in the automotive community, thanks to its VW Golf-inspired looks.

Buy a Rivian R1T Matchbox model car on Amazon.