Taking a Look at Electric Vehicle Manufacturer Rivian
Steven Higgins
Technology Writer
Rivian is an American electric vehicle manufacturer that was founded in 2009 and is based out of California. They specifically specialize in electric SUVs and pickup trucks with great off-road capabilities. Rivian is set to be releasing its electric vehicles to the public by December of 2021 with the help of Ford – which owns 12% of the company and Amazon – which owns 20%. In addition, Amazon has also placed an order for 100,000 electric vans by 2030, which are still in development. Rivian is currently producing two vehicles, the “R1T”, which is their pickup truck model, and the “R1S” SUV model. Both of these vehicles are forecasted to have two front motors producing 415 horsepower and 413 lb.-ft of torque, while the two rear motors will produce 420 horsepower and 495 lb.-ft of torque. They also produce a various selection of batteries ranging from 230 miles to over 400 miles. Rivian claims the vehicles will be able to go from 0–60 MPH in 3 seconds flat, something that is sure to make headlines. These types of vehicles are currently in high demand by consumers across America, and although electric cars aren’t that prominent in the car market, they are beginning to take over the roads more and more. Electric Cars are actually projected to make up more than 50 percent of the car market within the next decade. As they inch closer to being ready to start rolling out its innovative electric trucks to consumers the company officially went public, and it caught the attention of many due to the great success they have experienced so far.
Rivian has been in the spotlight ever since it made its highly anticipated stock market debut, all due to the intense interest from investors looking to capitalize on the fast-growing EV market. The company has been public only since November 9th and is already competing with some of the top vehicle manufacturers. The company opened with a stock price of $78 per share and has risen to $106.75 per share as of market open on November 10th only one day later.
However, despite Rivian’s great market debut, they have a long way to go if they want to catch up to its competitors such as Tesla, which has a strong, dominant grasp on the electric vehicles market. Tesla currently has a market cap of over one trillion dollars, however, one thing that sets Rivian apart from Tesla is that it specializes in electric trucks, something which Tesla does not have any set plans of producing. This makes Rivian an interesting stock to potentially invest in due to its rapidly growing market.
Contact Steven at steven.higgins@student.shu.edu