After spending much of the year underperforming the S&P 500, shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN | RIVN Price Prediction), the small electric vehicle (EV) maker, saw a surge at the end of 2025. They ended up 48% higher, compared to an S&P 500 advance of 17%.
The comeback was improbable. EV sales across much of the world have faltered. This was particularly true in the United States, after the Trump administration killed the $7,500 federal tax credit, effective September 30. iSeeCars said this would lower new EV sales to 8% of all U.S. new car sales. In September, that was closer to 5%. In November, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) saw its worst monthly sales in almost four years.
In a market in which high-priced EVs have been viewed as products unlikely to do well, Rivian got the message. Today, it has some of the most expensive EV models available in America. Its R1S has a base price of $77,000. It goes up from there, and the fullest featured model has a base price of $121,000. It may not be the highest-priced EV SUV in America, but it is close.
The R1T pickup has a price of $73,000, which can go as high as $115,00
Rivian decided to break out of the high-priced sector. Its R2 will have a base price of about $45,000. While it will be for sale in early 2026, the rollout is expected to be slow. Though the R3 is expected to have a base price of about $40,000, it will not be available until 2027. In the case of each, Rivian is in a race to erase its losses with the help of these new models.
Rivian’s sales are small, but not trivial. For 2025, it expects deliveries to be 41,500 to 43,500. Rivian cannot hold on long financially at that level, but the new models, with lower prices, could push delivery numbers sharply upward.
Rivian still lost $1.2 billion in the most recent quarter on revenue of $1.51 billion.
Finally, autonomous driving vehicles are as critical to the future of car sales as EVs are. Rivian launched a new self-driving car feature. As Motor Trend pointed out, the monthly fee for its service is $49.99. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving is $99 a month. If the new Rivian Autonomy+ works well, it is a new source of revenue for a company that needs some.
Rivian’s stock price shows that investors are willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.
Rivian Stock Price Prediction and Forecast 2025–2030
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