Rivian R1T electric pickup to roll out June 2021 as Illinois factory sets up

By Aaron Mamiit Published April 25, 2023

The Rivian R1T electric pickup truck will start rolling out to customers in June 2021, with the R1S electric SUV to follow a couple of months later in August 2021.

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Rivian revealed when the deliveries for the two electric vehicles will start in an email sent to prospective customers, TechCrunch reported, with the dates confirmed to Digital Trends by a company spokesperson. The email was the first to provide a specific window for the release of the R1T and R1S, for which production was supposed to start this year but was delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Amazon- and Ford-funded company was in the process of retooling a factory in Normal, Illinois that it purchased from Mitsubishi when the coronavirus-related lockdowns started. After a few months, Rivian started running a pilot production line at the facility, a process that looks to identify issues before ramping up to full production, TechCrunch reported.

Rivian, meanwhile, remains on track to make 100,000 electric delivery vans for Amazon, which will start receiving the vehicles in early 2021.

The company, however, said that it has not yet shared production details concerning its Illinois factory when asked for information on the planned rate of R1T and R1s production by Digital Trends.

Upcoming electric pickup trucks

The Rivian R1T is far from being the only electric pickup truck on its way to the market. Other options include a variant of the next-generation Ford F-150, the GMC Hummer, the Lordstown Endurance, and the Tesla Cybertruck.

Chevrolet recently revealed that it was joining the suddenly crowded arena with the Chevrolet BET Truck, the brand’s first full-size electric pickup truck designed to offer more than 400 miles of range on a single charge.

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