Just when it appeared Rivian’s stock would not decline further, it turned downward again. In the last month, its shares are off 34% while the S&P is nearly flat. While investors were skeptical of whether Rivian could deliver vehicles on schedule, in addition, the entire EV industry was rattled by Tesla’s decision to drop prices.
Investment research Loup recently reported that Tesla’s price drop would hurt margins. However, the same analysis concluded it should drive Tesla’s market share sharply. That hurts several EV manufacturers. Rivian is high on that list.
Tesla’s decision to drop prices drove its shares down. Rivian’s stock reacted more poorly. According to The Motley Fool, “But at the same time as investors are worrying about Tesla’s future, they’re practically panicking over Rivian Automotive.”
The Tesla decision follows several other pieces of bad news, which make it less and less likely Rivian can succeed as a company. Randy Frank, vice president of body and interior engineering, and Steve Gawronski, the vice president in charge of parts purchasing, left the Rivian of their own accord recently or were fired.
Rivian decided to walk away from a Mercedes deal to build electric vans in Europe. Rivian management commented, “At this point in time, we believe focusing on our consumer business, as well as our existing commercial business, represent the most attractive near-term opportunities to maximize value for Rivian.” The deal lasted three months, which is another reason to believe its management is in disarray. (Rivian dumps management, problems grow.)
A Rivian executive recently wrote to 24/7 Wall St. Part of the email read, “It is quite full of editorial content, much of which can be deemed as mischaracterizations and extreme personal opinions.” The article was titled “Rivian Continues to Fall Apart.” The last few days show our analysis of Rivian is accurate. (Rivian continues to fall apart.)
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