Rivian produced 19,751 vehicles in the third quarter and delivered 19,248 - more than ever before and around 45 percent more than in the same period last year. The company didn't say how many of them were R2s, the cheaper SUV that went on sale in June. But this is the first full quarter with it on sale, so it isn't hard to guess what made the difference. Full financial results are due on 29 October.

The R2 currently starts at just under 60,000 dollars (around 51,000 euros), with versions at around 45,000 dollars (around 38,000 euros) due later. "Cheaper" by American standards, then - and how cheap does that sound from the Balkans? Rivian hopes to sell between 20,000 and 25,000 R2s by the end of the year. If it does, that would make it one of the fastest-selling electric vehicles in US history, second only to Tesla's Model Y. In total the company is aiming for 65,000 to 70,000 vehicles this year, which would be its best year, after several years in which sales stalled at around 50,000.

Now the other half of the story. Rivian has recalled the R2 over high-voltage battery bolts that may not be tightened enough - a defect that can cause a loss of power while driving. Around 14 vehicles are affected, all of them already at service centres, and the repair is free. According to filings with the US road safety regulator, the defect was spotted by a worker at the factory in Normal, Illinois, on 17 September: an automated station on the line hadn't fully tightened the bolt. This is the second recall for the R2 - the first, last month, concerned rear camera visibility and was fixed with a software update.

The company says it isn't aware of any crashes or injuries. One owner, though, writes on Reddit that the service centre told him to stop driving immediately, and his vehicle was taken away on a tow truck.

Fourteen vehicles aren't a disaster. But it's exactly these small things that cost dearly when an entire business hangs on a single model. Rivian has been losing money for years, partly because of the expensive infrastructure needed for a mass-market vehicle. In March it pushed back its goal of becoming profitable in 2027 to invest more in autonomous driving, and it has a deal with Uber for robotaxi versions of the R2. It is also building a new factory near Atlanta with capacity for up to 300,000 vehicles a year.

The affordable electric car is a promise the industry has been making for years. Rivian is finally delivering it. The question is whether it can deliver it fast enough - and bolted down tightly enough.