5/15/26 USA Today Article: Rivian delays new R2 electric SUV with $45K starting price

[RoBoRaT R1S]

Is this true?

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Rivian delays new R2 electric SUV with $45K starting price

Portrait of Keith Laing Keith Laing
USA TODAY
May 15, 2026, 3:40 p.m. ET

Rivian has delayed the arrival of its upcoming electric SUV that will start around $45,000, the R2, which company officials say will be crucial to its long-term future as a viable automaker.

The Irvine, California-based company says in a post on its website that the electric SUV it intends to be its most affordable model will now be released in 2027. Rivian had previously said the R2 would be released in the first half of 2026.


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https://www.usatoday.com/story/cars/news/2026/05/15/rivian-delays-r2-suv-affordable-ev/90100490007/

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[37.773972 -122.431297]

Just "sensualism". It had to be actually offered to be delayed. They are just offering a different trim first.

 

[SANZC02]

Is this true?

———

Rivian delays new R2 electric SUV with $45K starting price

Portrait of Keith Laing Keith Laing
USA TODAY
May 15, 2026, 3:40 p.m. ET

Rivian has delayed the arrival of its upcoming electric SUV that will start around $45,000, the R2, which company officials say will be crucial to its long-term future as a viable automaker.

The Irvine, California-based company says in a post on its website that the electric SUV it intends to be its most affordable model will now be released in 2027. Rivian had previously said the R2 would be released in the first half of 2026.


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https://www.usatoday.com/story/cars/news/2026/05/15/rivian-delays-r2-suv-affordable-ev/90100490007/

They are intentionally misleading the info on this to create controversy. They did say the most affordable will be released in 2027. Then the next line do not specify any trim when they say the R2 was supposed to be released first half of 2026.

Just more bad reporting. Rivian never said the 45k version would be released in first half of 2026 and I really do not think anyone thought that trim would be first out the door.

Just does not make any sense to not release the higher trims with more margin first and reap the benefits of the fanfare surrounding the release.

 

[macb00kemdanno]

BS reporting, plain and simple.

 

[Just Passing By]

The availability timelines including the $45k version only being available late 2027 were communicated back on March 12. The following has been on their website since ...

"An additional R2 Standard variant will arrive in late 2027 starting around $45,000, offering 275+ miles of estimated range."

All I can say is don't rely on USA Today for timely news if they only discovered that today. By the time they tell you about the Zombie Apocalypse, you'll have been eaten long ago.

 

[skyguyscott]

As I predicted, this was entirely foreseeable. You can parse all you want, but the fact is, RJ himself touted a $45K R2 for ages and the public heard him. Now they hear the R2 is launching. What's does it cost? Way more than $45K. Foot, meet gun.

But but but...

Yeah, tell me some more.

Tell me how RJ fixes the PR issue. And by fix, I mean, getting the suburban mom, the 30-something struggling to afford anything, and the new family to feel good about a company they perceive as having baited and switched them, (no we didn't bait-n-switch you, its coming next year, we cross our hearts and promise, for reals.)

And, to be fair, the USAToday headline is completely accurate,
Rivian's $45k R2 SUV is delayed until 2027. Here's why.
It's the first line of the article that isn't accurate. "Rivian has delayed the release of its R2 electric SUV until 2027" and for that, they should correct it immediatly to something more like: Rivian is starting deliveries of it's much-anticipated R2 SUV now, but only the more expensive trims; the cheaper base model, starting at the much-touted more affordable $45,000 price point won't arrive before 2027, according to (insert attribute)

 

[Just Passing By]

Tell me how RJ fixes the PR issue. And by fix, I mean, getting the suburban mom, the 30-something struggling to afford anything, and the new family to feel good about a company they perceive as having baited and switched them, (no we didn't bait-n-switch you, its coming next year, we cross our hearts and promise, for reals.)

There is no PR issue and surely you can't be advocating for people with limited financial means to be buying any new car, let alone one starting at $45k, regardless of when that happens.

Your financially strapped demographic would be far better off buying a used Tesla Model Y for ~$25k or a Model 3 for ~$20k if they want an EV, or a used mid-size ICE SUV for $15-20k. If they really must have new, then a 2026 Rav4 LE starts at ~$32k and gets well into the 40's MPG so its affordable to run too.

Any of those and many other examples make more financial sense, so stop with the ridiculous sensationalization of old news.

 

[electruck]

the cheapest model of any new car model is almost never the variant available from start of production, and especially not from a capacity constrained new-ish car company that still hasn't reached profitability. So, aside from being sensationalist click bait to drive ad views, not sure why USA Today (or anyone) would have expectations of Rivian launching R2 with the budget model.

according to Google,

Finding examples of an automaker intentionally starting production or deliveries of an entirely new vehicle model with the lowest trim is incredibly difficult, because the standard auto-industry playbook dictates the exact opposite.

Automakers almost universally launch a vehicle with their highest, most expensive, and highest-margin configurations first (e.g., Tesla's "Founders Series," Rivian's "Launch Edition," or GMC's Hummer EV "Edition 1"). This strategy allows them to recapture massive research and development costs quickly and prioritize the most profitable vehicles when production lines are ramping up slowly.

Why is this so rare?
For a standard vehicle launch, a factory running at "slow fill" (the initial ramp-up phase where they might only build 5–10 cars a day) faces the same overhead costs as a fully optimized factory. If an automaker can choose whether those first 500 cars generate a 5% profit margin (base trim) or a 25% profit margin (top trim), they will choose the top trim every time to satisfy investors and stabilize early cash flow.

 

[AlphaSnowbordergirl]

As I predicted, this was entirely foreseeable. You can parse all you want, but the fact is, RJ himself touted a $45K R2 for ages and the public heard him. Now they hear the R2 is launching. What's does it cost? Way more than $45K. Foot, meet gun.

But but but...

Yeah, tell me some more.

Tell me how RJ fixes the PR issue. And by fix, I mean, getting the suburban mom, the 30-something struggling to afford anything, and the new family to feel good about a company they perceive as having baited and switched them, (no we didn't bait-n-switch you, its coming next year, we cross our hearts and promise, for reals.)

And, to be fair, the USAToday headline is completely accurate,
Rivian's $45k R2 SUV is delayed until 2027. Here's why.
It's the first line of the article that isn't accurate. "Rivian has delayed the release of its R2 electric SUV until 2027" and for that, they should correct it immediatly to something more like: Rivian is starting deliveries of it's much-anticipated R2 SUV now, but only the more expensive trims; the cheaper base model, starting at the much-touted more affordable $45,000 price point won't arrive before 2027, according to (insert attribute)

When he announced it two years ago, he said the 45k would not be the first released. 2025, they said it would be a dual motor variant first and it wouldn't be 45k. They were up front about it from the beginning even 2 years ago. Just no one thought it would take a full year for it to happen.

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