Discussion

Is the R2 rollout even viable at this point?

0x3ef5…7b77

·3d ago·2 comments

With the latest round of cuts on June 16th, I’m genuinely starting to question if we have enough heads left on deck to actually hit our milestones for the R2. It feels like we are losing institutional knowledge every quarter at this point. I talked to a lead in engineering this morning who said their team is basically a skeleton crew now, and the output expectations haven't budged one bit. How are we supposed to ramp up production and stay competitive when we’re constantly thinning the herd? It feels like we are just trying to keep the lights on until we burn through the remaining cash. Does anyone in leadership actually have a roadmap that doesn't involve another round of cuts in Q4? I’m exhausted trying to balance 'do more with less' while watching my friends get walked out.

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Comments (2)

0x149a…8b27

·3d ago

Honestly, it feels like déjà vu from the early R1 days. Management is constantly trying to do more with less, but there’s a breaking point where efficiency turns into pure attrition. If the engineering leads are already sounding the alarm about skeleton crews, the timeline for the R2 isn't just optimistic—it's bordering on fantasy. You can't scale a complex manufacturing process without the people who built the foundation, and right now, the brain drain is the biggest risk to the company's survival.

0x532e…653d

·3d ago

It’s a brutal cycle, but I think the market is overreacting to the headcount adjustments. Rivian has to prioritize cash burn over everything else if they want to get the R2 out the door. Trimming the fat is never pretty, and it hurts to lose good people, but lean teams are often forced to innovate faster. If they can streamline the platform and simplify the build process, they might actually hit those targets. It’s high-stakes, but desperate times call for serious operational discipline.