Rivian's CFO hints the end of EV tax credits means manufacturers are being forced to finally make more affordable electric cars

As the EV market enters choppy waters, legacy automakers are pulling back on electrification plans, delaying EV launches, and cutting production at EV plants.

That’s not an option for pure-play EV makers like Rivian. Instead, the Irvine, California-based manufacturer has its sights set firmly on the launch next year of its second-generation product: a midsize SUV called the R2 that’ll start at $45,000.

“One of our core strategies and approaches to offset some of the impacts of the…elimination of some of the credits for consumers is to bring a product to market that opens up the addressable market of consumers that can now say yes to a Rivian,” Claire McDonough, Rivian’s CFO, said during a Reuters automotive conference in Detroit on Wednesday.

Goodbye, tax credits: President Donald