Hyperdrive

Rivian’s Labor Union Reticence Impedes Effort to Tap US Funds

Steering clear of the United Auto Workers has hurt the EV maker’s cause in seeking a loan from the Biden administration.

Rivian R1T electric pickups at the manufacturer’s assembly plant in Normal, Illinois.

Photographer: Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg

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Rivian’s progress in trying to replicate Tesla’s success has been decidedly mixed. On one hand, the company has managed to convince countless anti-Elon EV buyers to drop $70,000 or so on its outdoorsy electric pickups and sport utility vehicles. On the other hand, it desperately needs to make money doing so, or at least pare its losses to a significant degree.