Rivian Or Lucid: Which Of The Two Loss-Making EV Startups Is Solving Cash Burn?

Rivian Automotive Inc. RIVN and Lucid Group Inc. LCID are two EV startups that share a lot of similarities. Both are based in California, have made compelling EV products, are eyeing expansion of their addressable market with cheaper offerings, and are – all this while – yet to turn a profit.

Burning Cash: The two EV makers, however, are continuing to invest big in research and development activities, as they gear to start production of their next major offering. While Lucid is looking to start production of its Lucid Gravity, Rivian is looking forward to launching its R2 SUV.

In the quarter that ended on June 30, Lucid spent $287.17 million in research and development, or about 143% of its revenue totaling $200.58 million in the period.

As for Rivian, the company spent $428 million in research and development, accounting for 37% of its revenue in the period.

While Rivian spent more, it also incurred more revenue in the quarter, thanks to its larger sales volume in the quarter. While Lucid delivered just 2,394 units of its Lucid Air sedan, Rivian delivered 13,790 units of its R1 vehicles, including its R1S SUV and R1T truck.

Despite its larger delivery volume, Rivian reported a net loss of $1,457 million for the quarter, more than double the net loss of $643.39 million reported by Lucid.

Future Models: Rivian intends to start production of R2 in the first half of 2026. The R2 SUV is expected to be priced at around $45,000, making it a cheaper and more mass-market offering than the company’s R1 vehicles which have a starting price of around $70,000.

Lucid has already commenced pre-production of its Lucid Gravity SUV and expects to start production later this year. The Gravity SUV is expected to start under $80,000, at a price point higher than the company’s Air sedan whose cheapest version starts at $69,900.

While Rivian’s R2 will be up against Tesla’s best-selling Model Y SUV, Gravity will be up against Tesla’s more premium and low-volume Model X SUV.

Profitability Goals: Rivian is optimistic. The company said during its second-quarter earnings call that it intends to deliver modest gross profit in the last quarter of 2024 and for the full year 2025.

Lucid, however, is yet to provide a timeline. Earlier this month, Lucid CFO Gagan Dhingra said that the company has already narrowed down its losses and will be in a “better position than competition” with scale.

Stock Performance: Both Lucid and Rivian became publicly listed companies in the second half of 2021. While Lucid’s stock is up 2.7% year-to-date, as of last close, Rivian is down 32%.

Rivian shares closed at $14.36 on Monday and Lucid shares at $4.26, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Had an investor put in $1,000 into Lucid stock at the onset of 2024, their investment would now be worth marginally higher than $1,000. But had the investor put their money in Rivian stock, they would have lost over $300.

Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Read More:

• Boeing’s Former CEO Dennis Muilenburg Said In 2017 His Company Will Beat Elon Musk To Mars. 7 Years Later, It Has Been Forced To Abandon NASA Astronauts At ISS, Who Will Now Be Rescued By SpaceX

Photos via Shutterstock