Electric truck maker ’s shares fell as much as 11% on Tuesday (Jan. 2), after the company reported fewer-than-anticipated deliveries in the fourth quarter. But Rivian’s rocky start to its 15th year is just as bad as competitor ’s.
That company is six years older than Rivian, but it managed to turn its troubled teenage years—which CEO said were mired in “extreme stress and pain”—into a mostly golden age of adulthood. Can Rivian do the same? Check out Quartz’s “Rivian versus Tesla” timeline and decide for yourself. The EV company is by Silicon Valley engineers Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.
The electric truck startup is , by engineer and MIT graduate RJ Scaringe, as Mainstream Motors. In year two, Eberhard and , Tesla’s third employee, —successfully. Musk leads the initial round of investment and becomes chairman.
In its third year, Tesla debuts two prototypes of its first vehicle, , to 350 guests at Santa Monica Airport. They barely make it through the event. “Those two cars were basically destroyed by the end of the night,” Tesla co-founder JB Straubel admitted to industry news outlet Electrek years later.
“We actually had to drive them behind a curtain to pump ice water in parts of the powertrain in order to keep them from overheating for more test drives. ” The Tesla Roadster goes into production in 2008, when Musk takes over as CEO. Tesla launches an IPO at $17 per share in 2010, its seventh year, valuing the business —and making it the first auto company to go public in .
Shares surge 41%, and Tesla in its first day on the stock market. The company in Michigan and California in 2015, its sixth year. Two years later, Rivian in Normal, Illinois.
In 2018, Rivian , a seven-passenger pickup truck (R1T) and a seven-seat SUV (R1S), at the LA Auto Show. The company raises from investors, led by global asset manager T. Rowe Price, Amazon, and Ford, in 2019.
Amazon from the automaker as it looks to reduce its carbon footprint. Tesla for every vehicle it makes in 2015, its 12th year, and its cash consumption raises concerns for investors. In 2017, the company’s net loss surges to $2.
2 billion, more than three times the prior year’s. Elon Musk calls years 14 to 16 a period of “ ” for the company. At first, things are looking up for the electric truck manufacturer during its preteen years, when it raises an additional from investors in 2020–21.
In its 12th year (aka 2021), the company produces its first consumer-ready R1S and R1T vehicles, also becoming the to market. Rivian goes public at $78 per share that November. on the first day of trading, making it the second-highest-valued US automotive company behind Tesla.
But the next year, feeling the curse of puberty, Rivian due to supply chain issues and macroeconomic forces, up from its losses of $4. 7 billion in 2021 and $1 billion in 2020. The company says in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it doesn’t expect to become profitable in the foreseeable future.
In 2023, Rivian is said to for every electric truck it sells. Nasdaq from its index. Even though the EV startup beat its production goals—it made more than , a huge jump from the previous year—its shares slide during the first day of trading in 2024.
Rivian’s stock price is $20. 86 at market open, about five times less than its value on the first day of trading in 2021. That’s because its fourth-quarter deliveries .
Years 17+: Adult insights The company turns profitable in its 17th year—2020—raking in . In 2022, its to $12. 6 billion.
Despite facing headwinds due to a of over 2 million vehicles at the end of 2023, Tesla by . Its shares start 2024 at $246. 76—almost 15 times their IPO price.
The EV maker is only 14 going on 15, so there’s still time for the tide to turn as it did for Tesla. In fact, Electrek said Tuesday that despite its troubles, Rivian is “ . ” 📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.
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From: quartz
URL: https://qz.com/rivians-15th-year-is-starting-just-as-bad-as-teslas-did-1851134517
