In December 2021, electric vehicle maker Rivian announced that it would build a new factory in Social Circle, Georgia, about an hour east of Atlanta. Gov. Brian Kemp heralded the $5 billion facility as "the single-largest economic development project in state history." When completed, the facility was expected to stretch over nearly 20 million square feet on 2,000 acres, an amount of real estate one Georgia-based journalist described as "three times larger than Disneyland" and "four times larger than Vatican City," capable of producing 400,000 vehicles per year. By May 2022, the state had approved an economic development agreement that likely constituted the largest incentive package in state history, at $1.5 billion in tax credits and local incentives.
Rivian was an object of market hype: The company didn't just make electric vehicles, it made electric pickup trucks, as well as an SUV and a delivery van, from a single factory in Illinois. What Tesla had done for sedans, Rivian promised to do for the truck market, making electric trucks cool while mitigating climate change—and raking in revenue.
