Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said everyone's fixation on Chinese automaker's cost is all wrong.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said everyone’s fixation on the cost of China’s EVs is wrong because it’s “that the technology is much better” and “if I were an existing manufacturer, I’d get less hung up on the cost and more focused on ‘the cars are actually better.'”

  • [email protected]@sh.itjust.works
    504·
    2 days ago

    Well yes, they’re subsidized by a country that has focused on increasing the quality and speed of manufacturing for like 3 generations. The US stagnated on that front. You cannot compete with a subsidized oligopoly composed of more skillful people.

    • tyler@programming.dev
      531·
      2 days ago

      Just to be clear, the US heavily subsidizes the auto industry as well, it’s just that because we’ve bailed them out so many times the auto industry hasn’t cared to innovate in decades.

      • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social
        513·
        2 days ago

        Uh huh. So China’s subsidies make them competitive and America’s makes them lazy, I wonder if maybe there might be another problem in this equation.

        • TBi@lemmy.world
          26·
          2 days ago

          China doesn’t bail out companies. It funds new companies to help them get started, but if you fail you fail. You don’t get bailed out.

          • njm1314@lemmy.world
            112·
            2 days ago

            Plus when our companies fail the CEOs get golden parachutes whereas if their companies fail the CEOs might get pushed out of plane without any type of parachute…

            • TBi@lemmy.world
              61·
              2 days ago

              Tackling out of planes is more like Russia. Look at Jack Ma. He’s alive and well. Probably he was smart enough to shut up and take what he was given.

        • ☂️-@lemmy.ml
          4·
          1 day ago

          i think its the capitalism and the get rich at any cost mentality, but i digress.

        • MrMakabar@slrpnk.netEnglish
          132·
          2 days ago

          Bad management. Just look at Europe. It is in many ways a US colony. Tesla which used the subsidies best, has an insane CEO and the main new product can not be sold in Europe. GM is basically not even competing since selling Vauxhall/Opel. Chrysler has been merged into Stellantis, so taken over by European car makers. Only Ford manages to do somewhat well.

    • Brkdncr@lemmy.world
      21·
      2 days ago

      I saw this guy talking to his assistant at a shitty hotel/resort and he treated her like a normal human. It was oddly comforting that CEO’s could do that.

      • Septimaeus@infosec.pub
        1·
        1 day ago

        Founding CEOs and those working for small companies usually are at least not-far-removed from the life experiences of their employees. In many cases they draw a relatively low salary and have a meager lifestyle compared to their most skilled employees. The pop culture tropes of the callous fatcat, ruthless machiavel, nepotistic bungler, etc are informed mostly by career CEOs hired by much larger corporations.

    • al_Kaholic@lemmynsfw.com
      192·
      2 days ago

      Imagine believing American industries are not heavily subsidized. Imagine the US government wouldn’t just bail them out if American CEOs ran the companies into the ground out of shear greed. Line must go up tiny brain.

      • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        71·
        2 days ago

        The companies are subsidized, not the manufacturing. The manufacturing got off-shored at least two decades ago to increase shareholder value.

      • [email protected]@sh.itjust.works
        22·
        2 days ago

        I didn’t feel like adding details to the American side of the equation, given that I replied during prime American hours on a conscientious community on a politically active website. It felt diminishing to assume this incredibly well known fact wasn’t known to most of the people who might read my comment