(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Biden administration announced Tuesday a $6.6 billion loan extension to Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer and notable rival of Tesla, the car company owned by Elon Musk.
The announcement comes less than a month after President-elect Donald Trump tapped Musk to lead the soon-to-be-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump project aimed at eliminating wasteful government programs.
The $6.6 billion loan is earmarked for constructing a $5 billion electric car factory in Georgia. Rivian initially launched the project but paused it due to financial strains, the New York Post reported Wednesday.
Vivek Ramaswamy, DOGE’s co-head, criticized the multi-billion-dollar loan in a post on X, accusing the Biden administration of approving the grant in a bid to hurt Musk.
“Biden is forking over $6.6 billion to EV-maker Rivian to build a Georgia plant they’ve already halted,” Ramaswamy wrote.
Ramaswamy argued the loan’s justification—that it will create 7,500—made little sense, as each job would cost taxpayers $880,000. He called this “insane.”
“This smells more like a political shot across the bow at @elonmusk & @Tesla,” Ramaswamy added.
Biden is forking over $6.6B to EV-maker Rivian to build a Georgia plant they’ve already halted. One “justification” is the 7,500 jobs it creates, but that implies a cost of $880k/job which is insane. This smells more like a political shot across the bow at @elonmusk & @Tesla. https://t.co/YYLW3fk1jX
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 26, 2024
In contrast, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe praised the loan, claiming in a press statement that it would “strengthen U.S. leadership in EV manufacturing and technology.”
Scaringe continued, “This loan would enable Rivian to more aggressively scale our U.S. manufacturing footprint for our competitively priced R2 and R3 vehicles that emphasize both capability and affordability.
He claimed that a “robust ecosystem of U.S. companies developing and manufacturing EVs is critical for the U.S. to maintain its long-term leadership in transportation.”
Rivian shares rose 15 percent following the loan’s announcement, the Post noted. Notably, Rivian is an EV start-up backed by leftist billionaire George Soros.
The vehicle manufacturing company was initially valued at $150 billion but has since fallen to just $10 billion.
