Amazon now has more than 10,000 Rivian vans on the road across 1,800 U.S. cities, and has delivered more than 260 million packages. The vans have been spotted more frequently around Seattle.

The algorithms should pick up every nail in a tire, fluid leak, dent on a fender, or crack in the windshield. UVeye's AVI technology scans an Amazon delivery van. Courtesy of UVeye ...

Starting a car company is extraordinarily expensive, and Amazon had the coffers to help make it happen. But the e-commerce giant wanted something in return: An all-electric delivery van for its fleet.