Rivian‘s R2 SUV is appearing in growing numbers in the run-up to first quarter earnings on Thursday, with pictures shared on social media showing 16 of the production-spec vehicles parked at the company’s Palo Alto lab.
The sightings, posted to the r/Rivian subreddit, come as the Irvine-based brand prepares to release its first quarter 2026 financial results on April 30 after the US market close — eight days after the start of volume and saleable production at the Normal, Illinois, plant.
Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe is expected to detail the R2 ramp cadence, after having offered only a high-level update during a live Bloomberg Tech interview from the factory floor last week.
“Yeah, our ramp up this week and into next week, we’re not making changes to the plan,” Scaringe said when asked about the potential impact of the storm that hit the plant.
Scaringe also told Bloomberg‘s Ed Ludlow that “we still had vehicles come off the line this morning,” confirming continued production despite an EF-1 tornado that struck the south end of the Normal facility on April 17.
Photographs from the Palo Alto lab on Friday showed three Half Moon Grey R2s, two Catalina Cove vehicles, two Glacier White units, one Launch Green, and several camouflaged MVB units.
The Palo Alto lab serves as Rivian‘s main software, electronics, and engineering hub, distinct from the Normal manufacturing plant where the R2 is assembled.
R2 Production Ramp
Rivian began volume and saleable production of the R2 at its Normal facility on April 22, following the completion of a tooling shutdown that the company had used to expand R1 production capacity and prepare the line for the second-generation vehicle.
The R2 is the smaller, lower-priced SUV that Rivian has positioned as the volume vehicle that could move the company toward sustained profitability after years of losses on the R1 lineup.
Scaringe has consistently described the R2 as the vehicle that will transform Rivian into a large-scale, profitable company, with reduced complexity, fewer electrical control units, and a leaner bill of materials compared with the R1.
Q1 Financial Results
The April 30 earnings release will follow the company’s April 2 disclosure that it delivered 10,365 vehicles in the first quarter and produced 14,611 units, reaffirming its 2026 delivery guidance of 62,000 to 67,000 vehicles.
Of the 25,000 R2 units planned for delivery this year, 5,000 are expected to be in California alone.
Rivian‘s stock has fallen about 18% year-to-date.
The earnings call is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 30, with Scaringe and chief financial officer Claire McDonough expected to provide the most detailed public commentary yet on R2 production cadence, the Volkswagen joint venture, the Uber deal, among other topics.
The R2’s contribution to second-half volumes will be the central question for analysts, given the gap between the 10,365 first-quarter deliveries and the 62,000-67,000 full-year guidance range.
Speaking at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW in March, Scaringe described the R2 as central to Rivian‘s path to absorbing the cost base it has built out as a clean-sheet automaker.
“We sort of grow into our R&D budget. We grow into our OPEX. We grow into the way we’ve architected our go-to-market,” Scaringe said in the SXSW conversation, referring to how higher R2 volumes would dilute the fixed costs Rivian has accumulated since founding.
