Scribe Slams Ramaswamy For Misunderstanding Rivian Loan

Electric vehicle startup Rivian scored a significant victory last month when the Biden administration approved a $6.6 billion loan to fund the construction of its Georgia factory.

The Rivian loan is reminiscent of Tesla’s own journey. I Photo: Rivian

The factory, initially slated to open this year, had faced delays, and the loan is now a cornerstone of Rivian’s plans to expand beyond the R1T and R1S models, Colin Woodard reported for Jalopnik.

However, the decision drew criticism from Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Donald Trump chose to co-lead the advisory committee Elon Musk has nicknamed the "Department of Government Efficiency."

Ramaswamy argued on social media: “Biden is forking over $6.6B to EV-maker Rivian to build a Georgia plant they’ve already halted. One ‘justification’ is the 7,500 jobs it creates, but that implies a cost of $880k/job which is insane. This smells more like a political shot across the bow at @elonmusk & @Tesla.”

Critics were quick to pounce on Ramaswamy’s statement, pointing out a fundamental misunderstanding of how loans work.

"A loan is not a gift," noted Jalopnik. "The federal government isn’t spending $880,000 per job created because Rivian is required to pay the money back, with interest."

The piece also called Ramaswamy’s argument that the loan is anti-Tesla “ridiculous,” noting that Tesla, the world’s most valuable automaker, doesn’t need government help and is well-positioned to handle competition.

The Rivian loan is reminiscent of Tesla’s own journey. Musk’s company paid back a $465-million concessional loan from the Obama administration in just nine years, a fact often highlighted when discussing government support for EV innovation.