The biggest hurdle to EV demand has been cost.  $30k EV pickup will easily have 3-4 times the demand of a Lightning.

To answer your question, I kinda see Rivian as like Mazda almost, or Buick. A halfway brand that makes pretty nice cars that aren't super affordable, but are nice for what they offer and aren't insanely expensive either. 

You should clarify this to mean BMW car (bimmer) drivers, not BMW motorcycle (beemer) riders.  I fall into the later and beemer riders are big on safety.

here is my question-how is the downturn in demand and the impact of that on battery building going to affect that?   I know in the past that I saw that projections about 4-5 years ago it was expected that the KwH for a battery in 2030 would be significantly cheaper then it was back in 2021 or so.   But with the recent contraction and repurposing of battery cell production, how much impact is that going to have the KwH costs? I have this feeling the build out won't be as much as it was expected to be. 

I'm not sure how the accounting works, but from what I understand, an actual loss vs actually losing money are two different things.   Its not like Ford isn't profitable, they are just spending money on something that is bringing back zero in return for the next 12 months. Once the CE1 pickup hits, the number should narrow and be profitable on the books, according to Ford, within a year or so of launch.    So basically this money is considered a loss because their is no investment that will be returned on it, Not that they are losing funding that is impacting other factors of the business. 

Yea, the skunkworks & CE1 efforts should make Ford a leader in bringing affordable EV to the masses in the next few years, when price parity should be achieved in the U.S. market  

Losses in the billions and billions isn't a big deal. That's what capital intensive startup businesses (which is what Ford Model e is) often experience as they get started.   The big deal is that as of March 2026, Ford Model e has only two BEV models (MME and E-Transit) being produced for the U.S. market. The CE1 product onslaught can't come soon enough.  

I think the biggest hinderance (outside of charging) is the pricing. If Ford can sell the CE1 Pickup in some form for between $35-40K, they will be successful with it. Price party is what is hurting EV sales in the US. Its like the Rivian R2-its an Escape sized product that costs $50K plus-that is way too much for a mainstream product (not sure what Rivian is supposed to be slotting it as- luxury vehicle or what)   If Ford can crack the C sized CUV EV product for less then $40K, they'll have a winner IMO

In 2018, Uber (Rivian's new partner) made history as the company responsible for the first recorded case of a pedestrian fatality involving a self-driving car.   

This is some impressive technology  800v Architecture  463 horsepower and 476 lb-ft of torque 440 miles of range DC charging at up to 400kW,