Rivian Continues To Make Progress While The Electric Pickup Concept Continues To Evolve

On November 11th, Rivian Automotive Inc RIVN delivered its third quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates while also increasing its EV production guidance. Rivian showed it continues to make progress but it already achieved to become the first EV maker who got the world’s first electric pickup to the road, beating even the EV king, Tesla Inc TSLA. While Tesla plans to finally deliver the eagerly anticipated Cybertruck at the end of the month, Reuters reported on Monday that it is reportedly planning to build an affordable EV at its Berlin Gigafactory after Musk has been hinting a below $30,000 vehicle to boost EV transition since 2018.

Rivian Tops Estimates And Boosts Production Guidance

Rivian earlier reported that it made 16,304 EVs, including R1S SUV, the R1T and the commercial vans for Amazon.com Inc AMZN while delivering 15,564 during the third quarter. Rivian lost less than feared from its operations as loss amounted $1.19 a share on revenue that rose 149% $1,337 million. Rivian also revealed it is no longer locked into an exclusive agreement with Amazon and therefore, is now able to sell its commercial vans elsewhere. But it will still deliver 100,000 electric vans to Amazon by the end of the decade, as promised under the deal.

On the back of these strong results, Rivian raised its full-year production guidance to 54,000 EVs, as it previously guided for 52,000 units back in August. But while Rivian is now focused on selling its commercial vans to other customers as it got freed from making them exclusively for Amazon, its R1T redefined the concept of electric pickups and literally opened a new era of EV innovation. Being a blend of rugedness and futuristic features, it is also hosts impressive technology and driving range, and it will certainly give Tesla a run for its money. But more competitors are coming, including traditional pickups with sustainable power features like the Hyundai Santa Cruz which will be enhanced with a solar-powered tonneau cover SOLIS and portable battery system COR from Worksport Ltd WKSP. With this revolutionary power duo, Worksport will be directly extending the driving range of electric pickups while also enabling clean power on the go to previously inaccessible locations, allowing drivers to experience freedom off the grid. Hyundai was among the first to secure a customized version of this groundbreaking technology with which Worksport is poised to make its mark in the pickup world as well as the upcoming era of clean energy solutions. With its offerings, Worksport promises to disrupt the EV game by upleveling the specs of many electric pickups.

Tesla And The Affordable EV Saga

Although Tesla has been planning to build an affordable EV for a while, Musk admitted last year that the EV king still didn’t master the technology and carved a path for this accomplishment. But on Monday, Reuters reported that Tesla is planning to build a $26,838 EV at its German facility, however, the EV king declined to comment. Yet, this seems like the logical next step as even Tesla has not been immune to the demand slowdown, which is why it ignited the price war at the beginning of the year, lowering its prices multiple times since. In the latest earnings call, Tesla CEO warned that economic fears are making potential EV buyers more cautious. Although back in 2019, Musk originally said that the Cybertruck would start at $39,900, that seems highly unlikely in these circumstances, with a recent federal document that Tesla submitted suggesting that the cheapest version of the distinctive pick-up is off the table.

Meanwhile, Rivian continues to make strong progress in lowering costs and narrowing down its losses while ramping up production, suggesting a rosier future might be ahead. However, the main barrier remains the cost of making one Rivian EV as the EV maker still lost $30,495 on every vehicle it built during the reported quarter, but still lowering the cost by $2,000 from the second quarter by simplifying its product portfolio and reducing material and labor costs. New technologies and ongoing negotiations with suppliers need to deliver further unit cost reductions for Rivian to stay competitive.

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