A few years ago, Rivian, Lucid, and Fisker were big Tesla competitors. Rising investor interest gave electric-vehicle producers large market caps and promising futures. Today is much less promising. EV growth is slowing, and market leader Tesla has predicted tough months. For newer competitors, "challenging" isn't enough.
Rivian reported a dismal quarter and outlook last month and slashed its salaried employment by 10%. Its market cap fell to $11 billion from $153 billion in 2021.
This week, Deepwater Asset Management managing partner Gene Munster discussed Apple buying Rivian due to its low value. Apple "needs to enter some new market," he told CNBC. “They need to do something big, and Rivian could be the answer.”
Apple would rarely do that. In 2014, it spent $3 billion on Beats Electronics, its most expensive acquisition. Amazon buys Rivian delivery trucks and is the EV maker's top shareholder with 16% of its hard-hit shares. Musk stated of Rivian last month, “They need to cut costs massively, and the exec team needs to live in the factory or they will die.” He estimated the corporation had six quarters before bankruptcy.
Lucid's market cap fell from $91.4 billion in 2001 to $7.6 billion now. It announced last month that it would make only 9,000 EVs this year, well below its 2024 prediction of 90,000. Its troubles raised speculation last year that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which owns 60% of the EV maker, would buy the rest. It didn't
Fisker's market cap is $258 million, down from $4.1 billion in 2021. As its stock closed below $1 for 30 trading days, the New York Stock Exchange warned it last month for noncompliance. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is probing “unintended vehicle movement” in Fisker's Ocean SUV, which famous YouTuber Marques Brownlee (aka MKBHD) recently panned.
Reuters claimed this week that Fisker is in early talks with Nissan for a collaboration and financial rescue, citing anonymous sources. The Japanese manufacturer would invest $400 million in Fisker's truck chassis and build its Alaska pickup in 2026.
“I believe that we have a future—otherwise I wouldn't be here,” Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker told Yahoo Finance this week, avoiding the Nissan issue. I think we'll recover from this broad EV slump.
stay turned for development