AUSTIN, Texas — Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc. wants to open a showroom in Austin.
In a June 15 post announcing the opening of its Manhattan location, Rivian highlighted plans to open a showroom on South Congress Avenue in Austin. The company said the flagship store will include a green rooftop and provide direct access to the nearby trail along Lady Bird Lake.
According to records from the Travis County Appraisal District (TCAD), Rivian purchased the site at 200 S. Congress Ave., next to Yeti's flagship store, in 2021. TCAD records show the property currently valued at $6.3 million, up nearly $2.5 million since last year. Images in Rivian's June 15 post show that the space was previously home to Sherry Matthews Group, a local marketing agency.
In 2022, the company filed plans with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Those documents show Rivian's plans to renovate the two-floor, 10,000-square-foot building into a commercial office space with a roof deck. The estimated cost of the renovations at the time of the filing was $3 million.
As a maker of eclectic vehicles, Rivian Automotive Inc. is a direct competitor to Austin-based Tesla, Inc. A July 3 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) states that Rivian produced nearly 14,000 vehicles in the second quarter and said it is on track to produce 50,000 vehicles this year. Meanwhile, Tesla said in a July 2 press release that it produced 479,700 vehicles in the second quarter.
Rivian already has a service center in Austin, located at 622 Morrow St. The company has plans to open showrooms in Atlanta, Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Pasadena, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver.
Tesla has its headquarters, a factory and three showrooms in Austin. It has also filed plans for a fourth showroom in the city, located at US 290 and State Highway 71.
According to a report from the Austin Business Journal (ABJ), neither Tesla nor Rivian can sell directly to Texas consumers because of a state law that prevents manufactures from doing so. The ABJ said in Tesla's case, buyers can visit a Tesla showroom and check out a car, but they then have to order it online for home delivery.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.