Amid the competition among electric vehicle makers, Rivian is one of the leading companies that thrive in the market along with Tesla.
For CEO Robert "RJ" Scaringe," the journey of the company has not been an easy one. There are obstacles along his way that prove that success is not just a one-way street.
After the boom of his IPO last year, several stakeholders grew interested in investing in Rivian. The two-day rally in November allowed Scaringe to own $2.2 billion in stakes.
Here's everything we need to know about Rivian's CEO.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 26: Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe attends and speaks at Rivian Unveils First-Ever Electric Adventure Vehicle Before Its Official Reveal At The LA Auto Show at Griffith Observatory on November 26, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
According to Forbes, the very first time that Scaringe listed Rivian's shares on the Nasdaq exchange was in November 2021. The company has been gradually recognized by others who consider testing its products away from the mainstream picks.
Rober Scaringe founded a car firm in 2009 with just a simple goal in his mind: to fix and create cars, trucks, and other battery-powered vehicles. Later, this company became Rivian Automotive.
At first, the company was struggling to make a powerful vehicle that would be an environment-friendly creation for the users. Finally, in November 2018, Scaringe and his company were able to build their first two vehicles. One of them was a pickup truck while the other one was an SUV.
Both of the electric vehicles were showcased during the L.A. Auto Show a few years ago. In September 2021, Rivian unveiled its first electric pickup truck to the public.
At that time, Rivian investors gathered. Those who came from Amazon, Cox Automotive, and Ford Motor have stake ownership of 20%. The Rivian CEO is said to own about 1.4% of the stakes.
Before he founded Rivian, he finished his doctorate in mechanical engineering at Sloan Automotive Lab in MIT. Currently, he is living with this family in Irvine, California. Originally, he was a native of Melbourne, Florida.
For the fun fact, Scaringe shared his plans to transform an old farm into a more useful site for planting. He wanted to construct the Rivian Assembly factory based in Normal, Illinois to give his employees the freshest food in the land.
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Rivian's Two-Day IPO Was Massive
While we know Tesla's dominance in the EV market was unblemished, we only knew a little about the other electric vehicle manufacturers. Tesla managed to reach a market cap of more than $2 billion only during the two days of its trading back in 2010.
However, Rivian was a huge trendsetter among EV companies. The Nasdaq listing saw the company with a 57% increase in the market cap. This granted Scaringe and his firm almost a $105 million market cap.
The entrepreneur indeed attracted a lot of investors in its business. He urged the consumers to go green and electric and even the tech giants to ditch the use of fossil fuels.
Back in 2012, Scaringe wrote a letter to shareholders about his plans with Rivian. He said that instead of focusing on building a luxurious car, he would adopt creating a product with a "maximum impact."
"We wanted to establish our brand by delivering a combination of efficiency, on-road performance, off-road capability, functional utility, and product refinement that simply didn't exist in the market," Robert wrote at that time.
For Scaringe, a business is not just about making profits. The CEO also wanted what's best for all of its customers while promoting sustainability and an eco-friendly approach to nature.
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Written by Joseph Henry
