Rivian sponsors direct-to-consumer EV sales ballot measure with $4.6 million
A committee called the Washington Coalition for Consumer Choice and Innovation is backing a ballot measure to allow direct-to-consumer electric vehicle sales in the state, to which Rivian has pledged $4.6 million in support of.
Tesla has exclusive access to sell EVs directly to consumers in Washington State. Legislation to allow other automakers, like Rivian and Lucid, to do so has previously failed.
The Washington State Standard reports that the coalition said in a statement that it “believes that all Washington drivers should have the option to test drive and purchase the vehicle of their choice.”
“We are currently pursuing a November 2026 ballot measure to make these choices available to Washington consumers,” the statement says, according to the article. “We believe the majority of voters will agree with us that Washington’s outdated car sales laws should be updated.”
To qualify for the ballot, initiative campaigns must turn in at least 308,911 voter signatures to the secretary of state’s office by early July, the article states.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s latest “Get Connected Electric Vehicle Report” shows that Washington was one of nine states in Q2 2025 that had EV registrations above 10%; Washington’s was 16.9%.
EVs represented 9.5% of new light-duty vehicle sales in the quarter, down from 9.6% in Q1 (a 9,000-unit drop) and down from 10.9% in Q4 2024.
U.S. EV registrations reached 385,075 in Q2, a 0.3% volume decrease, or about 2,000 vehicles, compared to Q2 2024.
The report also notes that EV public charging options were still lagging as of Q2, despite a 12% increase compared to 2024. Total EVs on the road also increased 12% during the same timeframe.
Nationwide, 385,075 EVs were registered in Q2 2025 while only 9,424 new public chargers were added — a ratio of 41 new EVs for every new public port.
Images
Featured image provided by Rivian
Bar graph provided by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation