Earlier this week, it was reported that Ford and its new partnership with Rivian were considering spending $700 million to expand the program. That partnership, which follows through on Ford’s decision to sell its no-profit autonomous vehicle unit earlier this month, would have formed a division responsible for Ford’s new electric vehicle platform. According to Business Insider, an announcement about Ford’s sales of the new platform would have followed up that news.
But Ford and Rivian have reportedly ended talks of a partnership, saying in a joint statement that they mutually determined that the budget involved in the deal would prove difficult to achieve. While Rivian CEO Bill Chiodo lauded his company’s relationship with Ford in a tweet earlier this week, adding that they are “still in [their] thanks and praise” for Ford, he didn’t seem to echo that message when asked about it by a reporter, adding, “It’s over.”
Industry experts expect the demise of Ford’s electric vehicle partnership to boost Tesla, which has similarly eschewed the conventional automotive market and pursued an ad campaign that features vehicles from other brands.