EV maker Rivian has offered to gift a vehicle to Olympic hockey medalist Kelly Pannek after her car was totaled in a crash.
The information was revealed on Thursday by hip hop artist Flavor Flav (from Public Enemy), who is hosting a party in Las Vegas to honor the achievements of US women athletes who won medals at this year’s Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
In an X post, he wrote, “This one is for a REAL need and imma hopeful that an auto company gonna step up. KELLY PANNEK from the women’s hockey team got hits by someone who totaled her car.”
Saying that the athlete needed a new car and noting that there were “lots of brands commenting that they want to help, but few truly stepping up,” Flavor Flav asked who could assist.
A few hours later, Irvine-based EV maker Rivian responded to the post, writing, “You already skate in style, now it’s time to ride in it, Kelly Pannek. Let’s get you behind the wheel of a Rivian.”
Pannek is an Olympic medalist from the Women’s Hockey Team. She plays for the Minnesota Frost in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Rivian x Sports
Late last month, Rivian became a sponsor of the Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who also competed in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
“The world knows Mikaela Shiffrin for her relentless run of achievements. They see the World Cup victories, Crystal Globes and Olympic medals that have made her the most decorated Alpine skier in history,” the company wrote in a new blog post.
In a statement, Shiffrin said she was “beyond excited to announce this partnership with Rivian…a brand built for adventurers, constantly seeking betterment and more efficiency through their curiosity — much like myself!”
A few days ago, Rivian celebrated the athlete’s Olympic gold medal with a post on X.
“Gold for Mikaela! We’re endlessly inspired by your talent, determination and commitment. Congrats,” the EV maker wrote.
Last year, the company collaborated with Kate Courtney, a world-champion cross-country mountain biker.
Previously, the brand also partnered on outdoor and sustainability projects with the Honnold Foundation, established by renowned professional rock climber Alex Honnold.
Brand Awareness and Marketing
According to Rivian’s latest Shareholder Letter, published earlier this month, the company is now concentrating on expanding its infrastructure and increasing brand awareness as it prepares to launch a more affordable mid-size SUV.
“We are scaling our commercial and service infrastructure as well as driving brand awareness in preparation for customer deliveries of R2 in the second quarter of 2026,” the company wrote.
As of mid-2024, and according to the EV maker’s Investor Day presentation, Rivian‘s brand awareness reached only 40% in its domestic market.
No official updates to those figures have been provided since.
Last year, Rivian ranked first for the third consecutive year in Consumer Reports‘ Owner Satisfaction ratings; however, despite the high satisfaction score, customers considered the brand to be the least reliable in 2025.
Rivian restructured its customer experience teams as part of a broader reorganization of its Go to Market functions last October, according to an internal e-mail sent by founder and CEO RJ Scaringe.
Then, Scaringe told employees in October that he would lead marketing on an interim basis while the company searched for someone to fill the position.
Three months later, Rivian told EV that it would not be appointing a new Chief Marketing Officer, as the functions fell under the newly created Chief Customer Officer role — filled by Greg Revelle earlier this year.
