Kind of feels like Rivian is giving away a hell of a lot to VW for only $5B. They must be really unsure they can make it to R2 launch.
The really challenging part for the old car companies has been the software and that was Rivian's edge. Now they've given that way and have to compete with VW on purely the hardware side that the old car companies are already good at.
They are also losing a hell of a lot of money - 1 billion in the last year. On a bit more than 50k shipped vehicles, that is around USD 20K loss per vehicle.
And it is a 15 year old company, not a new startup.
The really challenging part for the old car companies has been the software and that was Rivian's edge. Now they've given that way and have to compete with VW on purely the hardware side that the old car companies are already good at.