'We're Unbendable There': Why Rivian Won't Ever Use Dealers

The CEO says the company is willing to "forego sales to make sure we maintain a direct relationship with consumers."

Rivian Store

Photo by: Rivian

Mack Hogan

By: Mack Hogan

Jul 8, 2025 at 5:25pm ET

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The direct-sales model used by companies like Tesla, Rivian and Lucid allows shoppers to buy cars at a fixed price, with no complicated haggling or shady add-ons.
It's a key advantage, allowing brands to control their own customer relationships, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe says.
That's why Rivian is committed to the direct-sales model, even if it means foregoing some sales in the near term.

Buyers of Tesla, Rivian and Lucid EVs enjoy all sorts of things about their cars. Tesla makes the best software. Lucid builds the most efficient cars on the road. Rivian cranks out the best super-trucks that money can buy. But all three do one thing that customers love: They sell their products directly to consumers, rather than through dealers.

It's one of their biggest advantages. And they'll fight like hell to preserve it, as Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe explained in a roundtable interview with reporters in June.

Rivian Space

The interior of one of Rivian's "spaces," which the company claims offer no-hassle, no-pressure opportunities to experience the product.

"We have the advantage of we're direct only, and we're unbendable there. We will forego sales to make sure we maintain a direct relationship with consumers," Scaringe said. "And of course, there's the margin part of that, which we've talked about before. But we also think it's really important to be able to control the message, control how we talk to our customers, control every aspect of the service experience, control how we manage recalls. That puts the pressure on us."

Traditional manufacturers outsource that work to dealers, which are independently owned and protected from automaker interference by strict franchise laws and contracts. That means a car company can't stop dealers from pushing markups or shady add-ons, and it doesn't have a direct hand in the service experience. That has some advantages—Chevrolet, for instance, can service ultra-remote corners of the country without General Motors having to invest its own resources there—but it makes it so that the dealer, not the manufacturer, is the main contact point for the customer.