Rivian confirmed it paused operations at Building 2 — where the R2 SUV is produced — after a severe storm damaged the facility on Friday night.
In an e-mail sent to staff on Sunday night — and first reported by TechCrunch on Monday — the company directly addressed the matter.
The EV maker said no one was injured at its Normal, Illinois, plant and expects to resume R2 operations in the building “this week.”
The tornado hit a newer section of the facility primarily used for R2 logistics, including deliveries of parts, according to the company.
Aerial footage and interior photos published over the weekend showed a partially collapsed wall and roof, water on the factory floor, and exposed structural beams where roof panels had been torn away.
“Once we secure the impacted area, we anticipate resuming operations in Building 2 (specifically for R2) this week,” the company’s Chief of Communications Marina Hoffmann said in an email to TechCrunch.
Operations at other facilities continue as planned.
The company has not said whether the temporary shutdown will affect the timing of the R2 rollout.
EF-1 Tornado
The National Weather Service has since confirmed that the tornado that struck Rivian‘s plant was rated EF-1 with peak wind speeds of 110 mph — stronger than the 85 mph gust initially recorded by anemometer on Friday night.
The tornado touched down on the far west side of Normal at 8:57 PM CDT and tracked 10.3 miles northeast through the town, causing significant tree damage and flipping a semi-trailer on I-55 before entering Towanda.
It was one of at least five confirmed tornadoes in McLean County that night, according to NWS survey crews.
Local authorities declared a state of emergency on Saturday after the storm left thousands of Ameren Illinois and Corn Belt Energy customers without power.
Normal Mayor Chris Koos described the damage to Rivian‘s facility as “significant” but not “catastrophic.”
“I’m sure it will impact their day-to-day operations,” Koos told WGLT. “They’ll have some repair work to do.”
CEO Addresses Staff
In his Sunday night email to employees, founder and CEO RJ Scaringe praised the team for following emergency protocols during the storm.
“Thank you to our team members on site who sought safe shelter and followed our emergency management protocols when the tornado alarms sounded,” he wrote.
“I am proud of how everyone came together, not just to follow safety protocols, but to support one another and lead the cleanup and repair efforts with such care and determination.”
Two users who identified themselves as Rivian employees commented on a Reddit thread on Saturday with contested accounts of what the damaged section of the building contains.
One employee, posting under the handle ‘International-Art360,’ wrote that they had been inside the facility “not even 24 hours ago” and disputed earlier comments framing the damage as contained to empty warehouse space.
The user described the damaged section as a receiving area where trucks are unloaded, and said that the active production area was directly behind where the photo was taken.
A second user, posting as ‘JDDoss01,’ wrote that the damaged area was adjacent to their production line.
The company began producing saleable R2 units earlier this month, as the first vehicles with VIN numbers began being spotted.
Employee deliveries of the Performance Launch Edition are scheduled for this month, with customer configurations opening in May.
R2 Importance to Rivian
Scaringe has called the R2 the vehicle that will transform Rivian into a large-scale, profitable company.
The model’s bill of materials is roughly half that of the R1, and its launch-trim price of $57,990 puts it in direct competition with the Tesla Model Y Performance at $57,490.
Rivian recently reaffirmed its full-year delivery guidance of 62,000 to 67,000 vehicles after reporting 10,365 deliveries in Q1 2026 — a quarter that included no R2 units.
The reaffirmed target means Rivian needs to deliver between 51,635 and 56,635 vehicles over the remaining nine months, implying an average of approximately 17,200 to 18,900 per quarter — roughly 1.7 to 1.8 times the Q1 rate.
The Normal plant has capacity for 215,000 vehicles annually, including up to 155,000 R2s. Production is currently running on a single shift, with a second shift planned for late 2026 and a third in 2027.
Rivian‘s Normal facility is its only operating plant, producing all of its R1T pickups, R1S SUVs, and Amazon delivery vans alongside the new R2.
The upcoming Georgia plant, already under construction, is only scheduled to begin production in two years.
R2 Lineup
The R2 Performance, the first variant to reach customers, comes with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain producing 656 horsepower and 609 lb-ft of torque, a 0-to-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds, and an EPA-estimated range of up to 330 miles.
The Performance Launch Edition includes lifetime access to Rivian’s Autonomy+ hands-free driving system, a Rivian Green key fob, the signature Drop Glass rear window feature, and a tow package rated at 4,400 pounds.
A Premium trim at $53,990, with 450 horsepower and a 4.6-second 0-to-60 time, is expected in late 2026.
The Standard Long Range arrives in early 2027 at $48,490, and the $45,000 Standard — the price Rivian has promoted since the R2’s original unveiling in March 2024 — is not expected until late 2027.
Rivian’s VP and Head of Sales Gary Gaines said after the SXSW launch that the R2’s reception “exceeded” management expectations.
