Rivian R1T pickup pictured outside the company’s Normal, Illinois plant.
Rivian was the most well-funded U.S.-based electric vehicle startup. Stock market momentum continued days after the Nasdaq debut. California is currently ranked as the third most valuable automaker worldwide, just behind Tesla and Toyota.
Rivian, a California-based company, saw a 15% jump to close at $149.36 Monday. The company’s market capitalization jumped to $146.3billion, just behind Tesla at $1 billion and Toyota at $255.5billion, ahead of Volkswagen at $140billion. The shares had risen 38% since Nov. 10, when trading began.
The amazon-backed startup won’t be delivering many vehicles this year, having just begun building its R1T pickup truck powered by battery power last month. It appears that investors believe it will benefit from more U.S. government funding for electric vehicles, including new funding for public charger stations in the newly passed infrastructure bill. There are also hopes for more significant incentives for consumers to switch over to electric cars.
According to IHS Markit, President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 Trillion bipartisan package, which includes $7.5 Billion of new funds that could help get 400,000 additional charging stations running.
Mark Boyadjis is IHS Markit’s global automotive technology lead. He stated, “The Biden administration’s investment in electric vehicle charging supply will not be hyperbole” and that it was not exaggerated. “However, even this large of an investment will be insufficient to keep up with the rapid growth and introduction of electric cars on the roads soon. This highlights the need for additional support from municipalities, utilities, and private investors to fill the gap.
According to industry researchers, the U.S. will see an increase in electric vehicles by about 1.5 million in 2020 and 9.3 million in 2026.
RJ Scaringe is a founder and CEO. There are many reasons to be joyful. Rivian’s has a significant war chest to compete in Tesla and other electric-vehicle companies. Rivian has raised at most $11 billion from investors before going public. The company also received $12 billion more capital from its IPO. The initial orders for 50,00 R1Ts SUVs and R1S R1S SUVs have been placed in Normal, Illinois. Additionally, 100,000 electric delivery vehicles for Amazon are being built. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the company is also in talks to make a second U.S. production facility, which could be in Georgia.
RJ Scaringe is the founder and CEO of Rivian. Forbes estimated his net worth at $2.6 million as of Nov. 15. Interestingly, Tesla shares have been falling steadily while Rivian has grown in value. The decline began last week when Tesla CEO Elon Tesla stated that he would be selling 10% off his stake. He was motivated by the taxes he had to pay on options.
Nasdaq trades Tesla down 1.9% to $1.013.39 on Monday. It is also down almost 18% from the all-time high of $1.229.01 on Nov. 4.
