Rivian renegotiates DOE loan to $4.5 billion for Georgia plant

Rivian said Thursday it has revised a U.S. Department of Energy loan tied to its planned Georgia factory, lowering the total from $6.57 billion to $4.5 billion. The updated deal will let the company access funding earlier, but it also reduces the plant’s planned longterm capacity from 400,000 vehicles a year to 300,000. The company said the financing change reflects uncertainty in demand for electric vehicles. Rivian now expects to draw on the loan in 2027, one year earlier than previously planned, while keeping its R2 vehicle launch on track for late 2028 at the Georgia site. CEO RJ Scaringe said any future expansion beyond the revised plan would be funded by Rivian itself. The announcement came alongside the company’s firstquarter earnings report, which showed a narrower loss and higher revenue year over year, though results were mixed versus analyst expectations.