{"id":"1793747668471-tech-segment","slug":"rivian-s-record-quarter-big-losses","title":"Rivian's record quarter, big losses","summary":"Rivian produced 19,751 vehicles and delivered 19,248 in Q3 2026 from Normal, Illinois, both records. Revenue rose 38% year over year to $2.155 billion, but Rivian still lost about $913 million. It raised full-year delivery guidance to 67,000–70,000 vehicles.\n\nRivian's cheaper R2 electric SUV is now its best-selling model, helping offset an industrywide U.S. EV sales slump after the federal EV tax credit ended. But the R2 ramp added costs, and automotive operations still lose money excluding software/services revenue and regulatory credits.\n\nRivian reported record Q3 production of 19,751 vehicles in Normal, Illinois, delivered 19,248, raised 2026 delivery guidance to 67,000–70,000, and still posted a net loss of about $913 million.","publishedAt":"2026-11-03T23:14:28.471Z","channel":{"id":"tech","name":"Oncast Tech","language":"en"},"show":"Tech Tonight","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"TRUE","notes":"TRUE: Rivian reported record Q3 production of 19,751 vehicles in Normal, Illinois, delivered 19,248, raised 2026 delivery guidance to 67,000–70,000, and still posted a net loss of about $913 million.\nSource: [rivian.com](https://rivian.com/newsroom/article/rivian-releases-q3-2026-production-and-delivery-figures), [electrek.co](https://electrek.co/2026/10/29/rivian-r (https://x.com/Pantagraph/status/2116992275754426827)","claims":[{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Rivian reported record Q3 production of 19,751 vehicles in Normal, Illinois, delivered 19,248, raised 2026 delivery guidance to 67,000–70,000, and still posted a net loss of about $913 million.","sourceName":"[rivian.com](https://rivian.com/newsroom/article/rivian-releases-q3-2026-production-and-delivery-figures), [electrek.co](https://electrek.co/2026/10/29/rivian-r","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/Pantagraph/status/2116992275754426827","claim":"Rivian raised its annual delivery forecast after record production in Normal, but the electric vehicle maker continued to report substantial losses and declined to provide additional details about local operations. https://t.co/Nopa6vk54q","author":"The Pantagraph (@Pantagraph)"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/Pantagraph/status/2116992275754426827","name":"[rivian.com](https://rivian.com/newsroom/article/rivian-releases-q3-2026-production-and-delivery-figures), [electrek.co](https://electrek.co/2026/10/29/rivian-r","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"The Pantagraph (@Pantagraph)"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1793747668471-tech-segment-rivian-s-record-quarter-big-losses","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/tech","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1793747668471-tech-segment-rivian-s-record-quarter-big-losses","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1793747668471-tech-segment-rivian-s-record-quarter-big-losses and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Matilda","text":"Rivian just built more cars than ever and still lost more than nine hundred million dollars."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's the quarter? The Pantagraph posted the numbers on X from Normal, Illinois."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Nineteen thousand seven hundred fifty-one vehicles. Record production. Record deliveries. Still a giant loss."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Revenue jumped thirty-eight percent to two point one five billion. They're not dying."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"The loss per vehicle is about eight thousand four hundred, before credits. That's not a rounding error."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Because they're scaling the R2! It's finally the cheaper SUV people wanted. That costs money."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And Green Texan on X says incentives aren't needed. Automakers just need, quote, 'compelling vehicles that people can afford.'"},{"host":"Chris","text":"Rivian's R2 starts at fifty-seven thousand nine hundred ninety dollars."},{"host":"Chris","text":"A forty-five thousand version lands late twenty twenty-seven. That's the market working."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Then explain the loss. High demand, record deliveries, still negative margins."},{"host":"Chris","text":"They're building a factory and a platform at the same time."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Tesla lost money for years too. That's how scaling works."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Tesla had software and regulatory credits. Rivian is still mostly selling metal."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Electrek's Fred Lambert says R2 demand signals are strong. The Verge called it a rare bright spot in a rough EV market."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"It's a bright spot that costs nine hundred million a quarter. At some point, growth has to pay."},{"host":"Chris","text":"USA Today Cars posted on X that Rivian is the second-most-popular EV brand behind Tesla."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"That ranking isn't in Rivian's report. I'd take it with a grain of salt."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Even if it's not in the earnings, the sales trend is real. They're outselling rivals."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Okay, but the headline is about market share, not the balance sheet."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Market share matters. If Rivian is second behind Tesla, buyers are choosing them over Ford and GM."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Ford and GM have gas trucks to fall back on. Rivian has no safety net."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's why they need volume. The R2 is that volume."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Volume with negative margins. The more they sell, the more they lose."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Not forever. Costs come down as production scales."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"They've been scaling for years and still lose eight grand per vehicle."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Okay, but they raised guidance. That's a signal."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Guidance is not profit."},{"host":"Chris","text":"They raised full-year guidance to sixty-seven to seventy thousand vehicles. That's not a company panicking."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"No, but Green Texan is right that the subsidy era is over. Rivian has to stand on its own."},{"host":"Chris","text":"And it is! Record quarter, more affordable model, higher guidance. What more do you want?"},{"host":"Matilda","text":"I want the automotive business to stop losing eight grand per vehicle. That's the entire company."},{"host":"Chris","text":"You're treating a heavy capex business like a software app. Cars have factories."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"So why are other EV makers cutting production? Because they don't have a Rivian-style hit. The market is separating winners and losers."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Exactly. Which means no more blanket incentives. Green Texan nailed it—compelling products win."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"We both agree with the same post and still found thirty lines of argument."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's the show. But I'm watching Rivian's next two quarters. If they lose less per vehicle, I'm right."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"If they lose more, I'm right. Deal."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Different corner of the EV world: Jonathan Cecil posted on X that Waymo's next robotaxi platform will be based on Toyota's bZ4X electric SUV."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"No official word yet. Waymo and Toyota haven't confirmed anything."},{"host":"Chris","text":"It makes sense on paper. Waymo needs a purpose-built platform, Toyota needs a robotaxi partner."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"The bZ4X is a consumer SUV, not a purpose-built robotaxi. You'd want redundant steering and sensors from the start."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Toyota already showed robotaxi concepts, and building on an existing electric platform is cheaper than starting from scratch."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Cheaper until Waymo has to rip out and re-engineer half the car. Look at its Jaguar I-Pace conversions."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Right, and that's exactly why a dedicated build matters. I'm not saying it's true, just that it's plausible."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"It's one post with zero official confirmation. I need more than plausible before I hail one."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Fair. But if Toyota and Alphabet do team up, that's a serious robotaxi alliance."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"If. I'll believe it when the first one pulls up with no driver."}]}