Tesla: Rivian works closely with Ford
Tesla wants to enter the lucrative pick-up market from 2022 with the Cybertruck, But with Rivian, the e-car pioneer faces financially strong competition - also for employees. The market leader is going to court against the startup.
Tesla wants to hold its US competitor Rivian accountable for alleged business theft. In a lawsuit against unfair competition, the electric car pioneer accuses the rival of an "alarming scheme" to entice employees away in order to obtain confidential information.
Tesla and Rivian are in fierce competition for the first electric car in the lucrative pick-up segment. Even if Tesla is much better known, the rival, armed with billions of dollars from investors like Ford, Amazon or the financial giants T. Rowe Price and Blackrock, could end up ahead. Rivian wants to introduce his fully electric pick-up truck by 2021 at the latest, actually; the launch was planned for this year.
Despite this new delay and other setbacks; the company still has lots to smile about. It still has its agreement with Ford for a vehicle (probably an SUV) and that huge 100,000-vehicle commitment from Amazon. It also just raised an additional $2.5 billion to help it get its wheels rolling.
If it manages to stick to this updated schedule, it's still likely to have its pickup in customer's driveways ahead of the Tesla Cybertruck and GMC Hummer EV (which will also come in pickup truck form). Tesla just announced Austin would be the production location for its pickup and prep work for the first buildings just started – as shown in this video – and even with its speed is highly unlikely to have new product rolling out in less than a year.
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