Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Gov. Brian Kemp celebrated the announcement.
“Atlanta continues to lead in EV innovation and technology integration,” Dickens said, “and Rivian’s growing presence here reinforces our city’s role in shaping our future economy.”
Kemp has championed
recruiting Rivian’s planned factory
roughly an hour east of Atlanta in southern Morgan and Walton counties, a project promising to employ 7,500 workers when complete. He said the new office investment is a testament to “the unmatched value of Georgia’s talent and the location of their East Coast Headquarters in Atlanta is the latest demonstration of their commitment to the Peach State.”
Expediting expansion
Rivian emerged as an investor darling in late 2021 as a potential rival to Tesla, buoyed by its flagship electric pickup truck, SUV and delivery van models.
Rivian’s rapid growth plans
hit multiple snags and setbacks
, and the EV maker has yet to turn a profit. All the while, Rivian hinged its financial future and expansion plans to its proposed Georgia factory and a new crossover SUV called the R2, a model advertised with a $45,000 price tag.
In early 2026, Rivian plans to begin producing R2s at its sole existing factory
in Normal, Illinois
. Once R2 production is underway, the company will look at expanding into the European market, an effort that logistically will be helped by the forthcoming East Coast headquarters.
Credit: Courtesy of Rivian
Credit: Courtesy of Rivian
The Georgia factory is designed to expand R2 production after the vehicle’s launch. A groundbreaking is planned in 2026 with production starting by 2028.
“The work that we’ve been doing over the course of the last handful of years is to ensure that we can reduce the timeline between start of construction (of the Georgia factory) and start of production for future vehicles out of the site,” McDonough said.
The roughly 2,000-acre site along I-20 has been graded and is undergoing utility installation, she said.
Credit: Courtesy Rivian
Credit: Courtesy Rivian
State and local leaders approved
a $1.5 billion incentive package
to recruit Rivian’s factory, which requires the automaker to build its promised plant and meet hiring requirements to see the bulk of those financial benefits and tax savings.
Similarly, McDonough said Rivian has to break ground on its factory to tap into
a $6.6 billion construction loan
that was finalized in the waning days of the Biden administration.
The loan’s approval by the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office
has been criticized
by President Donald Trump and his allies. Georgia’s senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, lobbied for
many of those clean energy incentives
, including Rivian’s loan.
“The loan is set up as more of a project finance instrument,” McDonough said. “So it does require Rivian to have broken ground and continue to invest in the site before we’ll have a timeline for an initial (loan) draw out of the facility, which is really by design.”
No government-backed incentives were offered for the East Coast headquarters, the Georgia Department of Economic Development confirmed. The office’s 500 jobs are also a separate employment pool from Rivian’s 7,500 promised factory workers.
Cox Enterprises, which owns the AJC, also owns about a 3% stake in Rivian.
