RJ SCARINGE
Founded Rivian, the electric vehicle maker that had the biggest IPO of 2021 at a $66 billion valuation.
RJ Scaringe spent 12 years building an electric truck company before most people believed electric cars would work. Rivian's November 2021 IPO briefly made it worth more than Ford and GM combined — despite having delivered fewer than 1,000 vehicles. The stock has since crashed over 90% from its peak, but Scaringe is still standing, still building, and still has Amazon's $13 billion bet riding on his trucks. The most dangerous man in Detroit is not from Detroit.
Net Worth
$1.8 billion
Nationality
American
Time Horizon
Generational
Risk Appetite
9 / 10
CAREER & BACKGROUND
Born in 1983 in Melbourne, Florida. Grew up near Cape Canaveral watching rocket launches from his backyard, which gave him the belief that impossible engineering problems are solvable.
Studied mechanical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, then earned a PhD from MIT focused on alternative transportation.
Founded Rivian — originally called "Mainstream Motors" — in 2009, at age 26. This was before Tesla had launched the Model S.
Scaringe spent nearly a decade in stealth mode, burning through funding while developing the R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV. Most people in the auto industry had never heard of him.
That changed in 2019 when Amazon invested $700 million and ordered 100,000 custom electric delivery vans. Rivian IPO'd in November 2021, raising $11.9 billion — the largest IPO of 2021 and the sixth-largest in US history.
Market cap briefly hit $153 billion. The stock then fell over 90% as production struggles, supply chain nightmares, and cash burn scared investors away.
By 2025, Rivian had delivered 100,000+ vehicles and was still fighting for survival.
COMPANIES & ROLES
Founder and CEO of Rivian since 2009. Rivian makes the R1T electric pickup truck, R1S electric SUV, and EDV electric delivery vans for Amazon.
The company operates a massive factory in Normal, Illinois — a former Mitsubishi plant — and is building a second factory in Georgia. As of 2025, Rivian has delivered over 100,000 vehicles and employs roughly 16,000 people.
INVESTING STYLE & PHILOSOPHY
Not a public markets investor. Scaringe is a pure builder who invested years of his life into a single long-term vision.
His approach mirrors the deepest value investors — he found an opportunity the market had not priced in yet and had the patience to wait a decade for it to pay off.
THE PLAYBOOK
Risk Approach
Off the charts. He founded an EV company in 2009 when Tesla was nearly bankrupt and nobody believed electric trucks were viable.
He spent 12 years burning cash before delivering a single vehicle to a customer. His PhD thesis was literally about why EV companies fail — and then he went and started one anyway.
Money Habits
Does not live flashy. Drives a Rivian R1T.
Known as a relentless worker who sleeps at the factory during production crunch times. Early employees describe a founder who knew every bolt in the vehicle.
He is the anti-showman — you have never seen RJ Scaringe tweet something outrageous for attention.
BIGGEST WIN
The November 2021 IPO. Rivian raised $11.9 billion.
The stock surged 53% on day one. Market cap briefly hit $153 billion — more than Ford and GM combined.
For a company that had delivered 156 vehicles at the time of its IPO filing, this was either the greatest validation or the greatest mania in automotive history.
BIGGEST MISTAKE
Not ramping production fast enough. By early 2022, Rivian had 90,000+ orders but was producing fewer than 1,000 vehicles per quarter.
Supply chain issues, semiconductor shortages, and manufacturing complexity meant cash burned faster than expected. The stock fell from $180 to under $15.
Scaringe acknowledged they tried to do too many things at once — custom-building too many components instead of using off-the-shelf parts.
FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
Hardware is hard, but that is what makes it defensible. Scaringe believes the difficulty of building physical products is a moat.
Software companies can be copied overnight. Manufacturing capability takes years and billions to build.
Rivian designs and builds its own motors, battery packs, inverters, and infotainment systems in-house.
FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
Married to Sorastro Scaringe. Has children.
His father was a business executive. Growing up near Cape Canaveral gave him an early fascination with engineering and a conviction that building hard things is worth the difficulty.
EDUCATION
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (BS in Mechanical Engineering). MIT (PhD in Mechanical Engineering focused on alternative transportation).
His doctoral research was specifically about why EV companies fail — then he went and started one.
BOOKS & RESOURCES
The disruption playbook Scaringe cites as formative for Rivian's strategy
Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance
Know your competitor's story as well as your own
The SpaceX story of building hardware against impossible odds
As an Amazon Associate, Netfigo earns from qualifying purchases. Book links above may be affiliate links.
QUOTES (5)
I wrote my PhD thesis about why EV companies fail. Then I started one. You could call that confidence or insanity.
The transition to electric vehicles is not a trend. It is the biggest industrial shift since the internal combustion engine replaced the horse.
We spent twelve years building before we shipped a single vehicle. Most people thought we were crazy. Now they think we were early.
Growing up near Cape Canaveral taught me that impossible engineering problems are solvable. You just need the right people and enough time.
Hardware is hard. That's the point. If it were easy, everyone would do it, and there would be no moat.
NETFIGO SCORE
Proprietary 5-dimension investor rating
Risk Appetite
Contrarian Index
Track Record
Accessibility
Time Horizon
Related Profiles
Head-to-Head
Compare RJ Scaringe vs another investor.