Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe discusses the impression of import tariffs on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe on Tuesday mentioned the Trump administration’s tariffs and the way the electrical car (EV) maker is navigating them throughout an look on “The Claman Countdown.”
Scaringe instructed host Liz Claman that customers have a “lot of questions” about “what’s going to happen” with the pricing and availability of automobiles within the U.S. amid President Donald Trump’s tariffs and that Rivian is “trying to navigate that as thoughtfully as we can.”
The president introduced 25% tariffs on imported passenger automobiles, mild vans and sure key auto elements late final month. They’re amongst many levies on imports Trump has unveiled since returning to workplace, together with these on metal and aluminum, in addition to reciprocal tariffs.
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Electrical-vehicle startup Rivian Automotive Inc. is suing a key provider of seats, warning {that a} pricing dispute may impression manufacturing of an electrical van ordered by Amazon.com Inc. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Photos / Getty Photos)
Scaringe mentioned that Rivian’s EVs, together with the second-generation R1S that he appeared beside throughout “The Claman Countdown,” are manufactured at its facility in Regular, Illinois.
“We’ve been very focused on building out our supply chain, of course, our production footprint here in the U.S. and, of course, all the technology is developed here as well,” he instructed Claman.
Requested about the place Rivian’s metal and aluminum comes from, Scaringe mentioned it was “a mix.”
“One of the things with automotive is the supply chain is so complex, where we have hundreds of suppliers providing parts from, say, a headlight or a tow hook or tires or the structure under the skin here that are coming from not only a set of suppliers that supply to us, but those suppliers have suppliers, and then in turn, those suppliers have suppliers, so there’s tier two, tier three,” he defined. “So in our case, it is a mix. Given the new environment from a tariff point of view, we’re working really hard to see what we can change, but they’re difficult to change.”
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He acknowledged that Rivian is just not totally escaping Trump’s tariffs however mentioned the EV maker has a “very U.S.-centric supply chain.”
RJ Scaringe at Featured Session “The Moment We’re In: Transitioning How We Move, Think and Change The Planet” throughout SXSW Convention & Festivals at Hilton Austin Downtown on March 11, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Amy E. Value/SXSW Convention & Festivals through Getty Photos / Getty Photos)
“We build the big pieces all here,” he instructed Claman, mentioning the motors and battery as examples. “We developed the software stack, the electronics, but there are a lot of components that come from a global supply chain.”
Scaringe mentioned “there’s a tremendous amount of content that’s coming from suppliers that are both in the U.S. but also suppliers who are elsewhere” whereas trying contained in the R1S with Claman.
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Throughout the interview, she additionally famous that Rivian is increasing its plant in Illinois and requested Scaringe whether or not he had been in contact with the White Home, which has been pushing to spice up manufacturing within the U.S. with tariffs and different measures.
“When we think about the tariffs, of course the 25% auto tariff hits everybody,” he mentioned. “We do rely on a supply chain that across its tiers has a number of components that come from other countries and then, importantly, the trade restrictions and what we’re seeing in terms of rare earth metals out of China, that’s a real challenge for electric vehicles.”
China lately imposed restrictions on the exportation of sure uncommon earth metals and magnets from its nation.
Employees assemble second-generation R1 automobiles at electrical auto maker Rivian’s manufacturing facility in Regular, Illinois, on June 21, 2024. (Reuters/Joel Angel Juarez/File Picture / Reuters)
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“Essentially every electric car on the road today is using what’s called a permanent magnet motor,” Scaringe defined, noting such magnets “generally use some type of rare earth metal.”
He mentioned the rare-earth metals might be discovered in lots of locations globally however “in terms of the processing of the materials, that happens almost exclusively in China.”
Scaringe additionally talked concerning the EV business and what’s wanted to extend its share of the U.S. car market. EVs made up 8.1% of auto gross sales within the U.S. in 2024, in accordance with Cox Automotive.
“I think a huge part of this is giving customers choice,” he mentioned. “If you’re looking at buying an electric vehicle for under $50,000 today, there’s really very, very few highly compelling choices. And for that reason, you’ve seen Tesla with very significant market share for a long time now, over 50% of the market share, and that’s actually a reflection of limited grade choices. And so what we need to see to go from 8% to 15 to 20 to eventually 100% of vehicle sales being electric, a lot of choice.”
Ticker Safety Final Change Change % RIVN RIVIAN AUTOMOTIVE INC. 11.91 -0.12
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He mentioned there must be “different form factors, different features, different brands and styling and aesthetic treatments to what a car looks like” amongst EVs.
Rivian at the moment makes the R1S SUV, R1T pickup truck and business electrical vans. It additionally has the R2 and R3 within the pipeline.
