• Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the push toward gas-powered engines is "very bad for the US auto industry."
• "It blows my mind this is happening," Scaringe said on the "InsideEVs" podcast. "But nonetheless, it is."
• The CEO said the "reprioritization of capital" would thin the competition in EVs and offer an opportunity for Rivian and Tesla.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe never thought he would see the United States turn back to gas-powered vehicle expansion. Then it did.

Combustion engines are once again on the rise. Recently, General Motors announced a $4 billion investment in American gas-powered vehicle production. Meanwhile, the US government moved to end many of its green energy and electric vehicle expansion programs and incentives, like the EV tax credit.

Speaking on the "InsideEVs" podcast, Scaringe said that the shift has perplexed him — and that it may give companies like Rivian one small advantage.

Scaringe said he saw a "reprioritization of capital towards internal combustion," one that was "very bad for my kids and their kids, and very bad for the US auto industry."

"Things I never thought would happen a year ago are happening now," Scaringe said, describing new engine programs and plants being announced.

For years, the internal combustion engine (ICE) seemed to be on the downswing. In 2021, automakers like Ford, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Volvo pledged to work toward phasing out new ICE vehicles.

Then EV sales growth slowed down. In 2024, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse called on the European Union to ease its plan to phase out gas-powered vehicles by 2035, saying it would hit the European automotive industry "in its heart."

President Donald Trump has championed combustion engines, revoking the EV tax credit and signing a resolution to block California's planned combustion engine phase-out.

The shifting tides have surprised Scaringe: "It blows my mind this happening," he said on the podcast. "But nonetheless, it is."

Thanks to the investments in combustion engines — and stripping of EV subsidies — Scaringe expects the EV industry will centralize.

"You're going to have a sort of a vacuum of competition," he said. "The pure-play EV-focused companies Rivian, Tesla, there's not very many, because they're completely and fully focused on electrification, will have the advantage of a pretty thin competitive playing field."

While diminished competition could mean more market share for established EV makers like Rivian and Tesla, Scaringe didn't think it was healthy for the EV industry.

EV sales are still on the rise — especially in China, where companies like BYD have taken the lead. But their growth in the US has slowed, something Scaringe blames on a lack of choice.

"There's been so little choice of highly compelling products that we've seen adoption stop growing at around 8% new vehicle sales," Scaringe said. "Ideally, there's 3 or 4, 5 or 6 or 10 other great choices in order to draw in the other 92% of buyers who aren't buying electric today."

• Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said that his Ph.D. from MIT gave him "credibility" when approaching investors.
• Scaringe told the "Tosh Show" that he went to Stanford for a day before switching over to MIT for their automotive program.
• "It was like being recruited for a nerd sports team," Scaringe said of choosing between MIT and Stanford.

Some people pursue Ph.D.s to work in academia or to attain lofty research positions. The CEO of Rivian got his so people would take him seriously.

RJ Scaringe founded Mainstream Motors — later renamed Rivian — in 2009. It took over a decade to collect capital, build manufacturing capabilities, and eventually distribute the company's first consumer electric vehicle, the R1T.

When pitching his EV company to investors, Scaringe had a résumé perk: his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On the "Tosh Show," Scaringe said that he figured the degree would put him in good standing in investor rooms.

"I thought, 'I'll need a lot of money. I don't have any money, and if I'm going to get other people to invest money into this thing that I want to build, me having a Ph.D. from MIT or equivalent makes that more likely,'" Scaringe said.

Pitching a vehicle company is difficult, as Scaringe described on the podcast. Given the upfront capital costs to make a basic prototype, EV entrepreneurs like Scaringe are often pitching an idea more than a discreet product.

Thus, EV founders need credibility — and Scaringe didn't want to wait decades.

"I didn't want to go work at a car company for 20 years and earn credibility," he said. "So I wanted to get like credibility as quickly as I could."

For Scaringe, that came in the form of a Ph.D. in automotive mechanical engineering.

MIT is a hotbed for entrepreneurs. Notable Ph.D. alums include Intel cofounder Robert Noyce and Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert. Amar Bose of Bose Corporation got his Sc.D. from the institution.

When picking his graduate institution, Scaringe had two options: MIT or Stanford University. Having graduated first in his class at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Scaringe said he had plenty of options and was being courted by various programs.

"It was like being recruited for a nerd sports team because MIT offered me this amazing role, Stanford offered me this amazing role," he said.

Scaringe accepted his offer from Stanford and enrolled for a day before switching over to MIT.

"I actually preferred the program at MIT," Scaringe said. "The reason I really liked what MIT had is that they had an automotive-specific program and a lab built around automotive, and I knew I wanted to start what eventually became Rivian."

Scaringe called his reasoning for getting a Ph.D. "wonderfully naive" — but "it worked."