JB Pritzker Hails Rivian R2 Production, Says He Has Reserved The 'Made In Illinois' Tesla Model Y Rival

Gov. Jay Robert ‘JB’ Pritzker (D-IL) has hailed Rivian Technologies Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:RIVN) production ramp of the R2 crossover SUV at the automaker’s manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois.

‘Made In Illinois’

“Made in Illinois,” Pritzker said in a post on X on Tuesday, sharing that the Normal, Illinois, plant, which earlier belonged to Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, had been closed for a decade.

“Creating jobs in Central Illinois, strengthening our manufacturing, and leading the pack in the EV industry,” Pritzker said.

Made in Illinois.

Just over a decade ago, the Mitsubishi plant here in Normal closed its doors and now we're telling a different story with the launch of Rivian's R2.

Creating jobs in Central Illinois, strengthening our manufacturing, and leading the pack in the EV industry. pic.twitter.com/MHOiVE0j94

— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) May 19, 2026

Big Day For Rivian

Pritzker, in a separate post, shared a video of himself with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, who shared that he was “excited” to be ramping up the R2’s production and that the R2 would help the Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) rival “scale the business and go into the mass market.”

The Illinois governor said that he was “excited” about Rivian’s production ramp and that he knew a lot of people who had “put in their deposit” for the R2, including himself. “I’m in line too,” Pritzker said. “Today’s a big day for Rivian. It’s a big day for the state of Illinois,” he said.

It's a big day for Normal and the entire state of Illinois as we launch Rivian's R2. pic.twitter.com/IMflKJkmQE

— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) May 19, 2026

Rivian R2 Customer Deliveries, Amazon Deal

During the first quarter of 2026 earnings call, Rivian shared that it would begin customer deliveries in the “coming weeks.” Rivian’s first-quarter production figures came in at 10,236 vehicles, while its deliveries for the same period stood at 10,365 vehicles.

However, over 50% of the company’s first-quarter automotive revenue, or close to $468 million of Rivian's total $908 million revenue figure, came from sales of its fleet vans to e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Meanwhile, reviews of the R2 crossover have been positive, with YouTuber Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, sharing that it could be a successor to the Tesla Model Y.

According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Rivian offers Satisfactory Momentum and provides a favorable price trend in the Short and Long term.

Price Action: RIVN declined 2.92% to $12.96 during the pre-market trading on Wednesday.

Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Photo courtesy: Michael Berlfein via Shutterstock