A Rivian vehicle on display inside of the auto manufacturer's new space at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Ga on Thursday, October 19, 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
Rivian held the grand opening for its new East Coast Headquarters in Atlanta this week, not far from a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing facility under construction.
The California-based automaker is expanding its footprint in the Southeast with a 500-person office space inside Portman Holdings’ Junction Krog District building near the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta Beltline.
“Just having that adjacency to tap into talent here in downtown Atlanta and the surrounding areas to be a quick driving distance to the production facility,” said Elle Navarro, Rivian’s senior director of facility operations and workplace development.
The new office near the Beltline will support the company’s robotaxi partnership as well as other ventures. After years of financial turmoil, Rivian got a boost from a federal loan and partnerships with Volkswagen and Uber.
“Today, Volkswagen pays for 75% of all of the shared development work that happens within the joint venture. Rivian pays for 25% of that. Prior to the JV, we were funding 100% of the team and innovation,” said Rivian CFO Claire McDonough.
“Our grand ambition is not to just stop with robotaxis, but to also have consumer-level four vehicles as well. As we see the convenience of being able to drop yourself off at work, send your vehicle home to take your kids to school, or drop yourself at the Atlanta airport on a trip.”
Rivian CFO Claire McDonough and Vice President of Production Facilities Tony Sanger. (Marlon Hyde/WABE)
Rivian’s profitability improved in the second quarter behind increasing production of its new R2 SUV. McDonough says the new HQ will help the EV maker keep its supply chain local and avoid additional costs from tariffs.
“Our grand ambition is not to just stop with robotaxis, but to also have consumer level four vehicles as well. ”
Claire McDonough, Rivian CFO
“One of the core benefits of being here in Georgia as part of our site selection process was how rich the supply base is already in close proximity to the Santa Springs North site,” said McDonough.
“Whether that’s encouraging more of our suppliers to localize in the area and also the opportunity to work directly with suppliers who are already here as well.”
Rivian expects to first draw on the $4.5 billion loan with the Department of Energy to help build the Georgia plant by early 2027.
In 2024, Rivian paused construction on its $5 billion manufacturing plant near Social Circle, Georgia, to temporarily cut costs while shifting R2 SUV production to its existing plant in Normal, Illinois.
Vice President of Production Facilities Tony Sanger says construction is taking the necessary steps to ramp up soon.
“We’re beginning to work to lay out all of our on-pad utilities and begin the excavation for our standing building, which is our most complex building. It looks the smallest on the site, but it’s the most structurally complex. And it’s asked to support all of those press loads,” said Sanger.
From left to right: Jerry Silvio, Chairman of the Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton & Walton Counties of Georgia, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe, Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns and Pat Wilson, Commissioner of Georgia Department of Economic Development participate in a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of Rivian’s manufacturing plant outside of Social Circle, Ga, on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
Rivian says it will use the Georgia manufacturing plant in Stanton Springs to build Autonomous Robotaxis for Uber. According to Rivian’s recent earnings report, the facility is expected to create 7,500 jobs. It is projected to produce up to 300,000 vehicles per year for the R2, a future self-driving taxi variant of R2, and upcoming models including R3.
The year 2028 will mark the launch of Rivian’s L4 autonomous vehicles, which will be the very first robotaxis to be part of the Uber network. The company is banking on ramping up self-driving vehicle production.
“Our grand ambition is not to just stop with robotaxis, but to also have consumer-level four vehicles as well. As we see the convenience of being able to drop yourself off at work, send your vehicle home to take your kids to school, or drop yourself at the Atlanta airport on a trip,” said McDonough.
Uber is investing up to $1.25 billion in the EV automaker over the next five years for 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis with an option in 2030 to purchase up to 40,000 more.
Rivian expects to begin rolling out point-to-point advanced assisted driving capabilities by the end of this year as it continues to invest in autonomy hardware and software.
Navarro gave WABE a tour of the new facility on Tuesday as teams worked in rows of computers or in pods designed to enhance focus. (Marlon Hyde/WABE)
Rivian employee Elle Navarro gave WABE a tour of the new facility on Tuesday as teams worked in rows of computers or in pods designed to enhance focus.
She says over 100 employees currently work here, but the goal is to reach 500.
“As we hit certain headcount projections and certain milestones, that will then trigger us to gain additional space within the building,” said Navarro.
