What is this SUV of a new kind in which Jeff bezos went to the launch pad before taking off in the New Shepard rocket?
On July 20, the Amazon boss made his first flight in space for 10 minutes and 10 seconds with three other acolytes, including his brother.
But before climbing into the vessel developed by his company Blue Origine, the billionaire displayed himself aboard a vehicle never before seen on the roads: an electric car from the Rivian brand.
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The SUV, which features a feather and the words “Blue Origin”, is the R1S, one of two models presented by the brand with the R1T pickup that are expected to launch in sixteen cities this year.
100% electric, the R1S, seven seats, will be offered at a minimum price of 70,000 dollars (59,000 euros) with a range of 300 miles (480 kilometers).
Amazon Support
Founded in 2009, Rivian was born out of Robert “RJ” Scaringe's ambition to market zero-emission leisure vehicles, in particular trucks and SUVs, which pollute very much. The company, based in Irvin, California, where its only production site is located, has grown in recent years, notably thanks to Jeff Bezos. The company manager has indeed decided to bet on this new player in the electric sector by investing 700 million dollars in February 2019 and by ordering 100,000 copies of an electric van. Amazon has thus joined forces with the company to develop a personalized utility and meet its ecological objectives. Rivian received another strong support. In April 2019, Ford revealed that it had invested $ 500 million in the start-up.A boost that is not without interest since the American car manufacturer plans to rely on Rivian's technology for the manufacture of some of its vehicles. With this support that enabled it to recently raise funds of 2.56 billion dollars, Rivian was valued at 27.6 billion dollars in January 2021.
The start-up is therefore making its way in the electrical sector without even having marketed vehicles yet, the release of its first model having been delayed due to the shortage of semiconductors which penalizes the entire automotive sector. However, it is still a long way from waiting for the juggernaut Tesla, which announced on Monday that it had practically doubled its turnover in the second quarter and multiplied its profits by 10 compared to the first half of 2020. The fact remains that the he arrival of Jeff Bezos in his R1S is a snub to Elon Musk's company. Last April, his Model X transported the crew of the Crew Dragon capsule, including Thomas Pesquet, to the pull-up.