Relentless How To Solve The US Housing Crisis | Alexis Rivas, Cover
Oct 8, 2025
In this discussion, Alexis Rivas, Founder and CEO of Cover, delves into innovative solutions for the US housing crisis. He highlights the staggering multi-million unit shortage and why homes must be built where people want to live. Alexis challenges the stigma around prefab homes by emphasizing high-end models. He also shares strategies to streamline permitting and training for assembly teams. With a vision to manufacture homes rapidly, he draws parallels with automotive efficiency and details the cross-disciplinary team's approach to revolutionizing home production.
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Why Vertical Integration Matters
- Homes are far more expensive per square foot than cars because construction is fragmented and inefficient.
- Vertical integration is necessary to make homes faster, higher quality, and cheaper at scale.
Housing Shortage Is Location Specific
- The U.S. faces a multi-million home shortage concentrated in places people want to live.
- Housing stock isn't fungible because location, condition, and population shifts matter over decades.
Why Cover Chose Southern California
- Cover started in the Bay Area then moved to Southern California because factory and housing costs were prohibitive up north.
- They targeted high-end homes first to avoid the manufactured-home stigma and prove factory-built quality.