Spotting an electric truck on the road remains a novelty in most of the US, but not Normal, Illinois.
The town in the Midwestern corn belt is home to the manufacturing operations of Rivian, the battery-powered vehicle start-up worth more than Ford or Volkswagen soon after it listed 18 months ago.
Rivian’s market capitalisation has since crumbled from a peak of $162bn to $12.5bn in the face of production shortfalls and intensifying competition from carmakers both established and new. It is expected to report a $1.7bn operating loss on $654mn in revenue in first-quarter results due on Tuesday, according to a compilation of analysts’ estimates.