Rivian Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said he made a "very intentional" decision not to follow Tesla's early path of launching with a sports car, Teslarati reported, recounting the choice on an appearance on the Grit Podcast earlier this week. Tesla began with the Roadster, priced at $98,950, a car aimed at wealthy buyers and used, in Scaringe's telling, as a way to fund later models such as the Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Y. "A logical place to start is build a sports car, use it to build the brand, then following the sports car, follow with more mass market vehicles, and that was, of course, how Tesla's strategy played out, and it worked, you know, wonderfully, well for them," Scaringe said. "You know, we were starting in a similar logic space to say, 'build a sports car,' and I realized somebody's done that already, and they've done it well, with Tesla. So to pivot to a completely different type of product, you know, experience, vehicle topology, was a very intentional effort to also create a new story for not only us as a company or as a brand but, importantly, help shift mindsets around what sustainable transportation can look like."
Scaringe called Tesla "very inspirational" and credited the company as an EV "superpower," while arguing that Tesla's path was not the only one required for success. Rivian instead built its brand around electric trucks and SUVs, a different "vehicle topology" from a two-seat sports car. The comments are a strategy reflection on a podcast, not a new model announcement, a price change, or a claim that Rivian's financial path has been easier. Teslarati noted that Tesla's sports-car-first plan forced the company through difficult financial periods, even though it ultimately worked.
The $98,950 Roadster figure is the historical starting point cited in the report for Tesla's first car, not a current Tesla sticker, and Scaringe's account is his own description of an early internal debate, not a newly released Rivian financial filing. The interview does not name a rejected Rivian sports-car prototype or give a date when the pivot was locked in, only that the choice was deliberate and meant to tell a different story about sustainable transportation.
The verified news is Scaringe's public explanation, including the long quoted passage and the contrast with Tesla's Roadster-first strategy. It is not a product launch, and it is not a criticism that Tesla's approach failed.