Rivian: The Fever of EV Investing is Soaring

What a year it has been for the Electric Vehicle (EV) market, with Tesla Inc. domineering over the stock market last month, reaching USD 1 trillion in worth, followed by the EV startup Lucid overpowering Ford in market value with a 356% growth rate. And now, we have Rivian, the 10-year-old electric sportscar company that has yet to sell any of its products, raising the biggest U.S-based IPO since Facebook.  

EV companies taking over the stock market is a phenomenon that reflects the growing sentiment in believing that this domain is going to continue booming and holds the ticket to future successful investments. As investors look for the next Tesla, Rivian offers some promising results, now being backed by Ford, Cox, and its biggest shareholder, Amazon, which weighs its hopes on Rivain being the gate to achieving its 2040 green goal of carbon neutrality.

For a company that failed to raise any revenue in sales, it was already able to obtain 5 billion dollars of cash on hand this September, in addition to the USD 12 billion it was able to gather thanks to an enormously successful IPO on November 9.

Rivian debuted on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol (RIVN) earlier this month, with a groundbreaking valuation of USD 66.5 billion and a share offer of USD 78, rising as high as USD 119.46. Despite needing no more than USD 60 billion to outreach Honda and Volkswagen in value, Rivian scored a valuation of USD 100 billion! While Rivian intended to sell its products directly to customers, it gave almost all the 156 vehicles it produced this year to no other than its own employees.  

With a motto of “keep the world adventurous forever,” Rivian plans to launch a speed utility vehicle next month, along with commercial delivery vans for Amazon later this year, after buying %20 of Rivian’s shares. This is a result of the pressure investors had put upon the company, expecting a fast and smooth expansion in a time when experts advise to lead with a combination of patience and excitement. But, Rivian’s biggest challenge lies in the lack of proper infrastructure for EV in many places and its complete non-existence in the wilderness, where Rivian’s products are intended to be used.