U.S. electric pickup truck startup Rivian Automotive LLC said on Wednesday that Ford Motor Co invested $500 million in the company, which is seen as one of the major rivals to Tesla Inc

Investors led by Amazon.com Inc put $700 million into Rivian in February.

Ford and Rivian will jointly develop a battery electric vehicle using Rivian's platform, Rivian said.

A Ford representative will also join the seven-member board of Rivian.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr) ((supantha.mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S.+1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 80 6749 6101; Reuters Messaging: supantha.mukherjee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))