First videos of Rivian R2 and R3 driving on public roads show size comparisons
Rivian launched the much-anticipated R2 – and the surprise R3 – on Thursday, but at the time we only saw the cars on stage, in isolation. Now video has emerged showing these cars driving on public roads, next to other cars, offering a better visual size comparison, and a look at the cars in motion in the sunlight.
In the R2 unveiling, Rivian did tell us all the dimensions of the R2, so the comparisons there aren’t as important. We know it will be a little taller and a little less long than the Model Y, but otherwise pretty close in size (though quite different in shape, with a less aerodynamic but taller back-end).
But it’s still nice to see it on the road, driving under its own power, at more than 1mph, and with other cars around. While we already saw it on a stage and in person, it can be tough to really gauge the size of cars when you’re in a giant crowd of people and only looking at two new cars in isolation, without other familiar vehicles around.
The videos were taken in sunny Laguna Beach, just outside the Rivian South Coast Theater where the reveal event happened. The cars were driving on Pacific Coast Highway, just in front of Main Beach – which is an area that typically has heavy traffic with plenty of other cars around. This is annoying when you’re trying to get to an event on time, but nice when you want to see how cars look compared to other cars.
The first video was posted on reddit and then 2 more were compiled on Rivian Forums (though we’re not sure of the original source yet), and show both cars driving and the R3X loading into a car trailer. We’ve embedded them below.
The first video shows the R3X and then the R2 (the white car driving behind the R3X in the first half is an R1, not an R2).
The R3X is obscured for a lot of this video (partially behind a gas station sign showing gas at up to $5.49/gallon, quite a bit more than the 23 cents/kWh, or about $1/gal equivalent, which I pay when I charge off-peak at home nearby), and unfortunately we only get a shot of it driving away from us. It’s also on a heavily-crowned part of the road with nothing next to it until the end of the video, where we can see it looking perhaps a little shorter than the small truck across the road, and definitely a lot shorter than the trailing R1.
We get a much clearer shot of the R2 up close, which looks as expected – very close in design to the R1, just smaller. A Hyundai Tucson and Kia Soul drive by behind the R2, with the R2 looking a bit taller than both (when accounting for road crowning), but definitely in the same “mid-size SUV” ballpark (and note Rivian auto design chief Jeff Hammoud is sighted in the end of the video, taking his own video of the car driving by on his phone).
The second video gives us our best overall shot, this time of the R3 driving up and past, and then close-up on a smaller and flatter road. And it, or the crowd in front of the theater photographing it, certainly seems to be bringing a lot of joy to the lucky riders inside.
As it drives up, it looks quite imposing from the front, and in isolation you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking it looks a lot like an R1.
But when looking at the other cars around, its smaller size is immediately apparent. It certainly looks dwarfed by the R1 behind it, and the Model Y beside as well. Moving further along, its “something between a hatchback and a crossover” form factor becomes even more apparent as it drives by sedans, small SUVs, compact vans and trucks. In particular, the comparison to a Scion xB is interesting – another quirky, boxy car that straddled the “small SUV/compact car” categories. And once again, at the end of the video, you can see how comparatively massive the R1S is to the R3.
Finally, we see the R3X being loaded into a car trailer – which is interesting, given that Rivian HQ is basically on the same road as the theater, just 10 miles up Laguna Canyon in Irvine.
This video doesn’t tell us as much (except that it fits in an enclosed car trailer – which is something the nearby R1S might have a harder time with). But we wanted to include it for completeness.
As for other size comparisons, another user analyzed a photo of the R3X and thinks it’s a bit taller, but much less long than a Golf GTI. This estimate suggests it to be a full ~20 inches (!) shorter than the Ioniq 5, a car which it has drawn many comparisons to due to its shape and proportions, and even shorter than the Volvo EX30 and Bolt EV.
While this comparison is only based on one official photo of a prototype, the photo is taken directly side-on and thus offers a good view of the vehicle, and since we know the size of the tires and the car’s wheelbase (2,799mm/110.2in), we can come to a pretty good estimate, if not perfectly accurate.
Electrek’s Take
I’ve said many times here that I’m a small-car guy (and you should be too), so seeing Rivian go massively downsize is exciting to me. I was worried it would end up being a truck-and-SUV brand primarily (even though it started with a prototype sportscar), but the R3 in more of a “hot hatch” format shows that they’re ready to branch out. This is an important thing for a startup, to show that it’s capable of making diverse products to appeal to a variety of customers, so this is a big moment for Rivian.
Plus, I’ve had a lot of discussions recently with auto industry folk and journalists that we might be hitting “large car fatigue” as a society soon (I certainly have), and that we might finally get some smaller-sized cars in upcoming years, instead of the ubiquitous massive SUVs and trucks that we see now.
Maybe this is wishful thinking – but the reception we’ve seen for the R2 and particularly the R3, which seems even more exciting the more apparent its small size becomes, suggests that this could be the case.
The one problem here is that Rivian unveiled the two cars at the same time as each other, with the R2 coming out first. So we hope the huge excitement over the R3 doesn’t result in them Osborne-ing their own unreleased product, the R2, with an even more unreleased product, the R3.
Though Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has a plan to keep people interested, which he talked about in an interview with Electrek’s Seth Weintraub (you can see the full interview here, or a writeup of it here). And I’m willing to bet there are meetings happening right now about how to bring the R3 forward as quickly as possible, given the reception it’s gotten (also, I think the R3 is going to go absolutely gangbusters in Europe, based on size and style).
One final note, on the various wheel designs – I don’t love the R2 wheels, which seem a little distracting when in motion with those 5 silver squares spinning around. Similar goes for the R3 wheels and their 4-shape design, but to a lesser extent. Our shot of the R3X in motion is a little more distant, but I think I like those wheels the most. This lines up with my opinion when I saw them on the stage, and my personal general predilection towards smaller wheels with more rubber rather than larger ones with less rubber.
(Also, a note on wheels: we need more aerodynamic wheels in general, as if we applied aero wheel covers to all cars on the road, we could reduce US total – not automotive – energy use by something like 1%, which is pretty huge for such a small change).
What do you think about the R2, R3 and R3X now that we’ve seen them all driving on public roads? Both their looks, and their sizes? Let us know in the comments below.
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Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China.
China Stringer Network | Reuters
Like the U.S., Europe is also feeling the pressure to keep China sweet in order to maintain supplies of rare earth elements, which are vital for its strategic industries in the region such as auto production, green energy and defense.
Europe is heavily dependent on China for supplies of the world’s 17 rare earth elements and has been looking to calm stormy waters with Beijing over supplies, while looking for alternative sources of critical minerals — including in its own back yard.
That’s a long process, however, and for now, Europe is as vulnerable as other major consumers of rare earths, and particularly the U.S., when it comes to Beijing’s ability to turn the tap off on supplies.
Officials from Germany and the Netherlands are in Beijing this week for talks with their Chinese counterparts on China’s controls on rare earths exports and semiconductor chips which have made European industries vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions.
China dominates the rare earths market from mining to refining, with data from the International Energy Agency showing that, in 2024, China was responsible for 59% of the world’s rare earths mining, 91% of its refining and 94% of the manufacuring of permanent magnets which are commonly used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, industrial motors, data centers and defense systems.
As the world’s single largest supplier of a component that’s critical to so much manufacturing, China’s dominance has made “global supply chains in strategic sectors – such as energy, automotive, defense and AI data centres – vulnerable to potential disruptions,” the IEA noted.
That potential for disruption came to the fore this year when, in April and October, Beijing announced licensing requirements, and later export controls, on its rare earth supplies and technologies.
Those controls were suspended for a year as a result of a trade truce reached in October between China and the U.S. reached but major rare earth importers such as the U.S. and EU, which imports around 70% of rare earth supplies — and almost all of its rare earth magnets — from China, are all too aware of its vulnerabilities to geopolitical disruptions.
Barriers to diversification
Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the bloc was launching the “RESourceEU” plan aimed at reducing reliance on critical raw materials from China “in the short, medium and long term.” She said the bloc could do this by recycling existing raw materials, such as those in batteries, and by joint purchasing to stockpiling.
Von der Leyen also said the EU would boost investment in strategic projects “for the production and processing of critical raw materials here in Europe,” and would speed up work on critical raw materials partnerships with countries like Ukraine, Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Chile and Greenland.
“The world we face today rewards speed, not hesitation, because today’s world is unforgiving. And the global economy is completely different than it was even a few years ago. Europe cannot do things the same way anymore. We learned this lesson painfully with energy; we will not repeat it with critical materials,” she said, referencing the bloc’s reliance, before the Ukraine war, on Russian oil and gas.
Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, told CNBC Monday that the bloc was working to diversify its rare earth supplies but that this would take time.
“I would say there is some positive news, so China has suspended now for 12 months those additional export controls, which were announced in October, which gives us some time. But I also would say it emphasizes the need for the EU to diversify its rare earth and critical minerals supplies, because of many on those rare earths, we are depending more than 90% on China’s supplies,” Dombrovskis said.
Necessity the mother of invention?
Europe itself has reserves of rare earth materials with deposits found in Turkey, Sweden and Norway but the problem is that it doesn’t have the operations to mine those materials, let alone refine and process them — unlike China, which has decades of experience, investment and infrastructure that has fueled its global processing dominance.
Europe is also more encumbered with long approval processes and environmental standards when it comes to mining, meaning any regional plans to develop those rare earth deposits could take years. Public opposition is also a factor that has not shackled China.
A view of the NEO magnetic plant in Narva, a city in northeastern Estonia. A plant producing rare-earth magnets for Europe’s electric vehicle and wind-energy sectors.
Xinhua News Agency | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
The need to diversify from China quickly could cause officials to lower those barriers, however and there are already signs of action, with Europe’s first rare earth magnet production plant being opened in Estonia in September. Backed by funding from both Canada and the EU, the plant’s raw materials are coming from Australia and Malaysia.
“There’s probably a lot more deposits in Europe but … there are barriers to bringing that online,” Willis Thomas, principal consultant at CRU Group, told CNBC.
“But if we’re getting into a world where risks are being realized on trade tensions, I think that that will continue to push everyone to build out the supply chain and a bit more resilience on it, but it does take some time, and there’s limited expertise.”
What’s also worrying for Europe is that being unable to control the sources and supply of raw materials could mean that its technological and green ambitions suffer.
“Europe’s race towards net zero and digital leadership depend on materials it does not control,” Hamed Ghiaie, professor of Economics and Public Policy at ESCP Europe, and Filippo Gorelli, an analyst at Nexans, said in analysis for the World Economic Forum.
“For decades, Europe treated raw materials as a commodity issue, rather than a strategic one. That complacency is becoming costly,” they added.
“What is at stake is climate targets and economic resilience. Shortages of rare earths, gallium or germanium could slow semiconductor fabrication, AI development and even wind-power installation. In short, Europe cannot build a green or digital future on supply chains it doesn’t control,” they concluded.
Aviation startup Electra made history last month when its EL2 became the first hybrid-electric Ultra Short Take-off and Landing (uSTOL) aircraft to successfully complete helicopter-like take-offs and landings at the Watertown International Airport.
Founded to provide affordable air travel without airports, emissions, or noise, Electra’s stated goal was to build an aircraft that could deliver on the promises of eVTOL aircraft at a significantly reduced cost compared to its more drone-like competitors. In that context, the demonstration at Watertown isn’t a publicity stunt, but part of concerted effort to validate Electra’s uSTOL performance under real-world conditions at a commercial airport — exactly the kind of place that regional operators, cargo carriers, and emergency responders actually fly in and out of.
Hitting those marks now will help Electra clear a path for FAA certification and prove that the company can deliver on the $9 billion worth of promises its made (so far).
“Electra is grateful to the team at Watertown International Airport for enabling this demonstration of the EL2’s Ultra Short capabilities in an off-runway capacity,” explains Tom Carto, director of market development at Electra. “Our Ultra Short aircraft will offer the potential to increase the use of general aviation airports and expand the capacity of larger hubs by enabling takeoffs and landings on ramps and taxiways instead of runways, feeding in regional connections without adding to runway congestion. These transformative and practical capabilities will open the door to Direct Aviation and point-to-point connections in a way that will make it easier for people to get from the where they are to where they want to go.”
The EL2’s innovative “blown lift” design features eight electric motors on the plane’s wings, enabling take-off and landing in as little as 150 feet.
Electra says the final version of its aircraft will be able operate from airfields as small as 300 x 100 ft (90 x 30 m), or about one-tenth the length of a standard airport runway. That means that, even if these eSTOL aircraft don’t open up quite as many spaces for air travel as eVTOLs, do, they’ll still be extremely flexible – and more than capable of operating from the roofs of many existing buildings and parking structures.
Obviously
And, of course, the Air Force wants one.
NOTE: in response to some of the comments, I want to point out that the Electra is capable of sustained, electric-only powered flight and uses the genset for remote operations/extended range. I should have made that clearer. This is arguably more EREV than EV.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Electra; via Oswego County Business.
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The US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) closed a $1 billion loan to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1, a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania.
The money is being loaned to Constellation Energy Generation, which is renaming the 835 megawatt (MW) Three Mile Island Unit 1 the Crane Clean Energy Center. Constellation said in September 2024 that it would restart the reactor under a power purchase agreement with Microsoft, which needs more clean power to feed its growing data-center demand.
The project is estimated to cost around $1.6 billion, and the DOE says the project will create around 600 jobs. The reactor is expected to start generating power again in 2027.
Three Mile Island Unit 1 (in the foreground in the photo above) went offline in 2019 because it could no longer compete with cheaper natural gas, but it wasn’t decommissioned. It’s capable of powering the equivalent of approximately 800,000 homes. It’s on the same site as the Unit 2 reactor (in the background in the photo above) that went into partial nuclear meltdown in 1979, and is known as the worst commercial nuclear accident in US history.
When asked about the loan’s timing, Greg Beard, senior adviser to the Loan Programs Office, told reporters on a call that it would “lower the cost of capital and make power cheaper for those PJM [Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland] ratepayers.” Data centers are driving up electricity costs for consumers.
Read more: DOE props up dying coal with $625M days after Wright mocks clean energy subsidies
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