EV startup Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) said on Thursday that it has opened a new "space" in rival company Tesla Inc.'s home ground of Austin, Texas.

What Happened: "Now open: Our Austin space!," Rivian announced on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday. The space is located off South Congress Avenue in Austin, about 14 miles from Tesla's Texas gigafactory. Rivian already has service centers in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.

Rivian "spaces," as they call them, are dealerships where customers can experience the company's lineup. It already has spaces across Colorado, Illinois, California, and New York.

Irvine, California-based Rivian first announced the Austin dealership in June 2023. The 10,000-square-foot space has direct access to the Lady Bird Lake biking and running trail.

Rivian Takes Aim At Tesla's Dominance: Both Tesla and Rivian offer electric SUVs and pickup trucks. Tesla's Cybertruck competes with the Rivian R1T in the EV pickup segment, while the Rivian R1S SUV rivals Tesla's Model X. The company plans to begin production of the R2, a smaller and more affordable SUV priced around $45,000 — competing with Tesla's Model Y — in the first half of 2026.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously said that Rivian ought to cut costs massively to prevent an impending bankruptcy. Rivian lost nearly $38,784 per vehicle delivered in the first quarter of 2024, lower than the prior quarter but higher than the third quarter of 2023 when it reported a loss per vehicle delivered of just $30,648.

However, Rivian is aiming to reach positive gross profit in the last quarter of 2024.

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