Electric-Vehicle Startup Rivian Walks Back Price Increase, Apologizes

A Rivian R1T electric pickup truck was previously priced at $67,500.

Photo: Bing Guan/Bloomberg News

Rivian RIVN -5.38% Automotive Inc. is walking back a hefty price increase for its electric trucks and SUVs that was put into effect earlier this week, saying it will now honor prices for customers who previously ordered a vehicle.

In a letter made public Thursday, Rivian Chief Executive RJ Scaringe apologized to customers for applying the price increase retroactively. He said the startup is trying to cope with rising costs of parts and materials, but it erred by applying price increases to existing orders rather than honoring the original terms.

Customers who ordered their Rivian vehicles before the Tuesday price increase will have their original price honored, the company said. The increase added around 20% to the price of some model configurations. The pickup, the R1T, previously was priced at $67,500, while the R1S SUV started at about $70,000.

“As we worked to update pricing to reflect these cost increases, we wrongly decided to make these changes apply to all future deliveries, including pre-existing configured preorders,” Mr. Scaringe wrote. “While this was the logic, it was wrong and we broke your trust in Rivian.”