GRAND DESIGNS

CEO RJ Scaringe is ready to take Rivian from plucky EV startup to global powerhouse... we meet the man and the new models his master plan relies on

- Jack Rix

Either the gentleman next to me needs to lay off the triple-shot soy mocha lattes - or whatever it is they consume by the pint in California - or he's quite excited to be here. He's physically vibrating... probably why he's strapped his iPhone to a gimbal stabiliser and hasn't stopped filming the back of someone's head for the past 10 minutes. When Rivian's CEO and founder RJ Scaringe, eventually strolls onto the stage in a khaki shirt, jeans and pink Velcro Nikes, the guy erupts into a three-minute standing ovation of "Yeah!", "Let's go RJ!" and XL fist pumps. To be fair, the entire crowd does. Call me old fashioned, but doesn't the applause usually come at the end of the show?

We're gathered - the world's media, enthusiastic Rivian owners and employees, RJ's kids - in an old theatre in Laguna Beach, recently renovated to become Rivian's flagship 'space'. Think dealership with fewer sweaty salesmen, more responsibly sourced flat whites. We're here to see the new R2, the long-anticipated next piece of the puzzle that provides a cheaper, smaller entry point to the squeaky-clean Rivian brand, and expands sales beyond the US to Europe and other markets. RJ will be praying it'll send profits and share prices to the moon.

I sit though the hour-long presentation, watching RJ talking effortlessly in that uniquely American way to a livestream camera rig swooping around the stage. The R2 rolls out first, the crowd goes wild - especially when it's revealed it has not one, but two gloveboxes. I'm confused, do you even need gloves in California? Squint and it looks virtually identical to its bigger brother - the R1S - albeit hit with a shrink ray, but it's a handsome, bluff thing that makes a Tesla Model Y look like a piece of Play-Doh left on the radiator.