NEW YORK, May 29, 2026, 13:06 EDT
Rivian Automotive shares climbed 7.6% to $16.36 by midday Friday, building on a two-day rally after the company picked June 9 for its first customer event for the R2 midsize SUV. The stock hovered close to session highs, with volume around 24.3 million shares.
R2 is key for Rivian now, as the company needs it to get past its more expensive R1T pickup and R1S SUV and reach a wider set of buyers. Rivian aims for a bigger share of the U.S. EV market, which is largely led by Tesla’s Model Y. Reuters said last month Rivian had started making the R2. Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough told Reuters they were “encouraged by the reservations” for the new model. Reuters
Rivian is calling June 9 “the day” for its R2 launch, telling buyers this week that order invitations, demo drives, and the first deliveries will start then across the U.S. The company said shoppers are able to save and share their configurations now, ahead of the invite window. Exposure
Rivian isn’t opening up orders to everyone right away. The company’s support page says U.S. reservation holders will get invites in groups, based mostly on when they reserved and where they want delivery. Once buyers lock in their order, Rivian said they should expect delivery in two to six weeks.
Stocks overall edged up Friday with the S&P 500 heading for its ninth weekly win. The Nasdaq was little changed. Oil retreated as traders tracked U.S.-Iran truce talks. The move stood out on a more stable day in markets.
Rivian’s R2 is now its main focus for the near term. Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe told TechCrunch it’s “maybe the most important thing we’ve launched to date.” Rivian is targeting up to 25,000 R2 deliveries by year-end. TechCrunch
Rivian’s finances are still showing a mixed picture. In its first-quarter update, the company said it started saleable R2 production and handed the first units to employees, reported $1.381 billion in revenue, and generated $119 million in gross profit, which is revenue minus production costs. Rivian kept its 2026 delivery forecast at 62,000 to 67,000 vehicles. CEO R.J. Scaringe said the launch should “dramatically expand our market opportunity.” Securities and Exchange Commission
Rivian is pushing software as a key point for its stock, not just how many cars it sells. Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid told The Verge in an interview out Thursday that the R2 will be the first to run on Rivian’s joint platform with Volkswagen. He said, “voice has the chance to be the primary interface in the car.” The Verge
The rally isn’t cleared yet. U.S. auto safety regulators started a preliminary investigation Thursday on 114,922 Rivian R1S and R1T vehicles tied to a rear toe link, a suspension part that keeps wheels aligned. NHTSA reported getting two owner complaints about left rear toe-link separation while driving. Rivian said its own data showed the joints were working as intended.
Cash remains key for Rivian. The company burned through $1.075 billion in free cash flow in the first quarter, after operations and capital spending. Rivian did finish March with $5.394 billion in total liquidity, counting its revolving-credit line. But if costs for the R2 ramp jump faster than orders, or if delivery hiccups hit service or suppliers, Friday’s stock pop could look more like a launch-date trade than a real business shift.
Investors know the date, the product, and the short window. The real question now is how many people with reservations actually buy, and how fast Rivian can deliver the R2 while holding onto its margin gains.
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