Abigail Bassett

At the same time there’s a little bit of Kia to it, at least in the teal color. It reminds me a little of a Kia Steltos. People were ready for R2, but R3 was a real surprise. The audience loved it. The R3X looks familiar. It has very Mercedes Maybach dog-dish wheels. Also reminds me a bit of Rolls wheels. Interestingly I think the charging ports on R2 and R3 are in the rear rather than the front like the R1. Rivian R3 is about ‘making a small car feel really big.’ The rear window pops open making it easier to carry longer items. How roomy is it? The flat fold seats are huge. I’ve slept in an R1 and at 5’7” I was a little cramped. I bet this will be much more roomy. It looks very Land Rover Defender to me in person. At 6’1”, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe towers over the R2. Peter Berg, director of Lone Survivor, is in the audience. (And about a half dozen other Mark Wahlberg movies.) I didn’t identify him myself. I’m sitting with a woman I know who’s a reporter who used to do Hollywood coverage. A nice backdrop for the R2. There was a line almost around the back for both media and ‘guests’ when I arrived at 9:15AM. An illustration of the theater with a couple of Rivian R1Ts for good measure. Image: Abigail Bassett / The Verge