ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Energy will make a $6.6 billion loan to Rivian Automotive to build a factory in Georgia that had stalled as the startup electric vehicle maker struggled to become profitable.
It’s unclear whether the administration can complete the loan before Donald Trump becomes president again in less than two months, or whether the Trump administration might try to claw the money back.
Trump previously vowed to end federal electric vehicle tax credits, which are worth up to $7,500 for new zero-emission vehicles and $4,000 for used ones.
Rivian made a splash when it went public and began producing large electric R1 SUVs, pickup trucks and delivery vans at a former Mitsubishi factory in Normal, Illinois, in 2021. Months later, the California-based company announced it would build a second, larger, $5 billion plant about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Atlanta, near the town of Social Circle.
The R1 vehicles cost $70,000 or more. The company plans to produce R2 vehicles, a smaller SUV, in Georgia with lower price tags aimed at a mass market. The first phase of Rivian’s Georgia factory is projected to make 200,000 vehicles a year, with a second phase capable of another 200,000 a year. Eventually, the plant is projected to employ 7,500 workers.
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