The hatch is evocative of the boxier Volkswagen Golf and has many design cues with the Honda e, another electric hatchback that a few years ago caught the attention of many potential EV buyers. Crucially, Rivian will be attempting to compete in a completely new market of smaller EVs, one that Tesla presently controls. Although we were aware that Rivian was developing a "R3," I doubt many people anticipated it to look exactly like this.

Regretfully, the corporation withheld important information about the R3's pricing and availability right away. Production is still probably years away. During the ceremony on Thursday, CEO RJ Scaringe hinted on stage that it will be constructed at the company's yet-to-be-built new facility in Georgia.

We do know that there will be a sporty, bright R3X variation and that the R3 will have a little shorter wheelbase than the R2 (2800 mm against 2935 mm). It will be "more affordable" than the $45,000 R2 and built on the same platform—none of which will be confusing. The R3 will be offered in single, double, and triple motor configurations, just like the R2. In contrast to the R2, the business is not currently accepting preorders.

Scaringe stated during the event, "[R3] takes the platform and packaging of R2 and shrinks it to fit into our interpretation of a crossover, and... it's almost hard to define what it is, but it so beautifully captures our brand and captures what we represent as a company."

Though Wall Street did not receive well the news, it is somewhat of a boost for the company, which is expected to produce about the same number of cars this year as it did in 2023. It appears that the R3 is a short-term solution for that, as Rivian's stock price skyrocketed following the unexpected disclosure.

Not to mention whether or not what we saw on Thursday is truly a functioning prototype, there are still a lot of unanswered issues regarding price and range. However, it's encouraging to see that a business that began with massive, heavy pickup trucks and SUVs is developing something far more approachable and possibly even more reasonably priced.