Rivian

As the City of Bloomington considers how to get more water in the future, planners could look to the city of Joliet for an example. One of the options under study by Bloomington would be for the city to build a pipeline to the Illinois River.

Bloomington-Normal could soon be home to a second state-supported manufacturing training academy — this time based at Rivian. State officials announced the development during a visit to Rivian on Tuesday.

Gov. JB Pritzker visited Rivian’s new manufacturing plant in Normal on Tuesday and suggested that the company’s new R2 model could open up the market for EVs to middle-income buyers in the same way that Ford’s Model T did for regular cars a century ago.

The new R2 — Rivian’s first mass-market vehicle — was the focal point of Thursday’s first-quarter earnings call. R2 production began last week in Normal. They’ll reach customers later this spring.

Two years after announcing a new model would be built first in Normal, the first Rivian R2s built for real customers rolled off the production line on Wednesday.

A group of workers trying to unionize Rivian’s manufacturing plant in Normal say they are growing frustrated with an apparent pullback in support from the United Auto Workers.

The electric automaker Rivian said Thursday that it signed a new partnership with Uber that would put up to 50,000 Rivian robotaxis on the streets over the next several years. In exchange, Uber will invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian, which makes its EVs in Normal.

The first Rivian R2s will be delivered to customers this spring, beginning with a special “launch” version that starts at $57,990. A base model of R2 starting around $45,000 will not be available until late 2027.

A startup robotics company owned by Rivian and founded by Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has secured $500 million in startup capital. Mind Robotics announced an investment by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz. The firm wants to build AI-powered industrial robots.

Firefighters unpinned a man who was trapped between a semi-trailer and loading dock at the Rivian's warehouse in north Normal. Kevin Lancaster of Heyworth was transported by ambulance but later died.