Scaringe, the son of an engineer and who was obsessed with cars as a kid, knew early he wanted to start his own business. The MIT engineering doctorate turned his dream into a reality in 2009 when he founded what would become Rivian, whose name stems from the Indian River in Florida where Scaringe spent his youth.

In the closing days of President Biden’s administration, it is handing out billions of dollars in a loan to an electric vehicle maker, Rivian Automotive, even though the company has struggled to become profitable.

The Biden administration has preliminarily said it would give a $6.6 billion loan to electric vehicle maker Rivian for a plant in Georgia. The administration said the loan would support the construction of a facility where Rivian will make up to 400,