Why Rivian is holding onto the $45,000 base model R2 until ‘late 2027’

Rivian to be revealed specifications and pricing details for its R2 SUV on Thursday, and the company also answered the most pressing question: When will customers be able to buy the promised $45,000 model?

The answer is “late 2027,” according to the company’s press release. And there is a catch. The language that Rivian uses here is that the R2 version will “start around $45,000.” That’s a big change from how the company recently announced that the R2 “will launch to $45,000” on his website. (Emphasis mine.)

This is not really surprising. Like TechCrunch first reported last weekRivian removed the “starting at $45,000” language from its website in February.

Also, a lot has changed since Rivian revealed the R2’s internals March 2024. The $7,500 EV tax credit is gone. The automaker has stopped buying interest from companies like Rivian, stemming the flow of free content pouring into its reserves. President Trump’s controversial tariffs have increased the cost of the materials and equipment Rivian uses to make its EVs.

In some ways, Rivian has some serious issues to deal with.

Sales of its R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV are down in 2025. Rivian is about to begin construction on a massive factory in Georgia where it hopes to build hundreds of thousands of R2 SUVs (and, eventually, R3 hatchbacks).

The company is also trying to create what could be one of the fastest electric cars is launching in US history with its most R2 models this year. Rivian plans to sell between 20,000 and 25,000 R2s by the end of 2026. If it succeeds, Tesla’s Model Y alone would reach 20,000 by selling faster.

Rivian told TechCrunch that it wants to start with the more expensive R2 models “so that owners can see the new interest rates first.”

“Starting with the top trim is an industry trend and sets the tone for the entire group by showcasing the unique capabilities and speed that makes Rivian so famous, all the while expanding our Premium and Standard models later,” the company said.

Rivian will offer the “Standard” R2 in the first half of 2027 that starts at $48,490, with a range of 345 miles. The actual starting range is only 275 miles. This could be a sign of how Rivian is approaching the base price – the fewer batteries the lower the price. A low-end version of the entry-level model can also serve a dual purpose by encouraging customers to pay several thousand dollars for the top-of-the-line model.

Rivian told TechCrunch that the two Standard models share the same rear drive but declined to say whether there are any differences beyond battery capacity that would explain the price difference. It also declined to comment on its sales strategy.

“We have created internal engineering, development and business services to achieve the desired cost. We created challenges by moving to a zonal power plant, reducing the number of electrical equipment, and using our internal control units,” the company said. Rivian said it also used lessons learned to reduce the cost of its second-generation R1 cars, and develop better relationships with suppliers.

This all comes just a few months after Rivian he agreed to pay $250 million to settle a shareholder class action lawsuit over the company’s sudden price hike on its 2021 R1 sedan.

It also has light references to the controversy that Tesla got into a few years ago. Elon Musk and his company spent years promising that the Model 3 would cost $35,000. But Tesla just a summary made the $35,000 Model 3 available “without a menu,” and that order it didn’t last long. Many customers who tried to buy were forced to buy luxury sedans, while Musk publicly complained that it was difficult to fulfill the promise he had made.

Another Tesla vehicle has been announced with an unprecedented price tag: the Cybertruck. Tesla launched the first metal model in 2019 starting at just $40,000. But in the end it was set at very high prices which, when mixed with its limited design, resulted in limited sales.

It seems unlikely that the R2 will crash as badly as the Cybertruck did to Tesla. Other than that, it’s a very accessible car and starting at a very low price – all without the political cost of having Elon Musk as CEO. But the next few years will tell if the R2 will have the same lifespan as a $35,000 Model 3, or a Cybertruck, or something different.