Production of the Rivian R2 has begun despite tornado damage at the factory

Rivian rolled the first customer-ready R2 SUVs off the production line at its plant in Normal, Illinois, just days after it was hit by an EF-1 tornado that tore off part of the roof.

Despite the damage, founder and CEO RJ Scaringe told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday morning that Rivian doesn’t expect any delays in the R2 launch, which is critical to the company’s survival.

“The tornado went through the south end of the plant and tore the roof off the building and took part of the plant down as well, so the last 72 hours have been around the clock,” he said. Scaringe explained that Rivian had to change how and where it brings some materials to the factory to build the R2.

But “we’re not making any changes to the plan,” he said, referring to the company’s production roadmap.

Scaringe was not asked when Rivian will make the first R2 deliveries during the interview. The company has previously stated that it will start shipping the R2 SUV before the end of the first half of 2026.

The start of production of the R2 is a major milestone for the company. It’s the first production vehicle Rivian has built that has a chance to reach mass-market customers, as it costs significantly less than the company’s current R1 EVs. It’s also supposed to help the company finally reach profitability after years of losing money on every vehicle it sold.

The company has high expectations for the R2. Rivian told investors earlier this year that it expects to deliver between 20,000 and 25,000 SUVs by the end of 2026. If Rivian achieves that, it will be one of the largest-scale new EVs ever launched in the US, second only to Tesla’s Model Y.

That said, Rivian is coming out with a version of the R2 that costs almost $13,000 more than the $45,000 price tag the company spent years promoting. The R2 version starts at $57,990, with a slightly cheaper $53,990 version coming later this year. Rivian won’t sell an R2 for under $50,000 until the first half of 2027, and a true base model starting at $45,000 won’t hit the market until late 2027.

And that’s if the $45,000 R2 ever arrives at all. When Rivian announced pricing for the SUV in March, the company said the base model would start at “around $45,000” — not “at $45,000” as it had promoted on its website as recently as February.