THINK !WOW! TESLA

BY definition, the time of the world's richest man is pretty valuable. But early last fall, Jeff Bezos  sought out a 36-year old entrepreneur named R.K. Scaringe and spent the better part of a day in Plymouth, Mich, at the company he founded, Rivian.

Mr. Bezos got a preview of Rivian's electric pickup truck and sport utility vehicle and liked what he saw. Not long after his visit, Amazon led a $700  million investment in Rivian. Two months later, in April, Ford Motor invested $500 million. All told, Rivian has raised $1.7 billion without selling a single truck or S.U.V.

If you have not heard of Rivian before well, that was intentional. Until recently, it was in stealth mode, operating out of unmarked buildings and making few public announcements.

But no longer. By the end of 2020, Rivian intends to begin producing premium electric vehicles, with a greater range than anything on the road today.

Rivian is promising to do for trucks what Tesla did for luxury of cars.

That's where the similarities between the two electric automobile makers end. Even as Tesla and its brash chief executive, Ellon Musk, made Headlines by selling and falling short of some audacious goals. Mr. Scaringe and Rivian have spent a decade fine- tunning their designs

Walking around a former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Ill. Mr. Scaringe points to where stamping presses will churn out car parts like fenders and doors. But he is hoping to do more than sell cars. Mr. Scaringe wants to dispel myths he thinks still surrounds electric vehicles.

''We have a number of untruths - a truck can't be electric, an electric car can't go off road, it can't get dirty, it can't tow, and truck buyers don't want some that's environmentally friendly,'' he said.

''These things are fundamentally wrong. Electrification and technology can create a truck that's incredibly capable and fun to drive.''

The honor and serving of the latest global operational research on Electric Cars continues. The World Students Society thanks author Nelson D. Schwartz.