RIVN On Track For Third Straight Week In The Red Despite CEO Teasing Fresh R2 Variants

• In March, Rivian announced three variants for the R2, called Standard, Premium, and Performance.
• However, in an interview with Reuters, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe reportedly said that the company is eyeing launching other variants.
• The CEO did not disclose how the additional variants would look, Reuters noted.

EV startup Rivian Automotive (RIVN) is on track to record its third consecutive week in the red despite reports that the company is working on undisclosed variants of its upcoming R2 midsize vehicle.

Shares of the company fell 1% on Wednesday and nearly 4% this week, on the heels of recording a 9% drop last week when the firm reported first-quarter earnings and revenue which beat Wall Street estimates.

Interestingly, RIVN stock closed most weeks in 2026 in the red, recording gains of over 4% in only three weeks.

New And Undisclosed R2 Variants

In March, Rivian announced three variants for the R2, called Standard, Premium, and Performance. Rivian is slated to start deliveries of the top-end variant, priced around $58,000, around June. Deliveries of the other two variants will follow later this year, and in 2027, the company had said.

However, in an interview with Reuters, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe reportedly said that the company is eyeing launching other variants. The CEO did not disclose how the additional variants would look, Reuters noted.

"So clearly there ​could be an ⁠R2X," CEO RJ Scaringe reportedly told Reuters. "There's going to be combinations," he noted, adding that he does not want to announce the program yet.

Rivian’s R2 Roadmap

Rivian commenced production of the R2 SUV in April at its Normal, Illinois, facility. The new vehicle is aimed at expanding Rivian’s total addressable market with a price point much below its current R1 offerings, which have a starting price above $70,000. The standard variant of R2 will be priced around $45,000 to compete with Tesla’s best-selling Model Y SUV.

For the whole of 2026, Rivian now expects to deliver 62,000-67,000 vehicles, up from the 42,247 vehicles delivered in 2025, thanks to the boost provided by R2. However, the ramp of R2 delivery will be “back-half weighted,” Rivian CFO Claire McDonough said last week.

“As discussed previously, R2 production is starting with a single shift operation, and we expect to scale to 2 shifts by the end of 2026 as we ramp towards our North Star target of profitably delivering 4,000 vehicles per week in Normal,” McDonough said during the company’s first quarter earnings call.

The CFO further highlighted that the new vehicle launch will negatively impact the company’s automotive gross profit in Q2 and Q3 before benefiting in Q4 as the company ramps production and deliveries. While Rivian started R2 production at its existing facility in Normal, the company expects that its upcoming facility in Georgia will provide added capacity in time.

How Did RIVN Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around RIVN stayed within the ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume stayed within ‘extremely high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user voiced optimism for Rivian’s vehicle lineup and added that “there has never been a better time to buy” the stock.

RIVN stock has gained 7% over the past 12 months. 

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