Rivian, the hot electric vehicle company backed by Ford and Amazon, posted a net loss of $1.71 billion in the second quarter of 2022 based on $364 million in revenue. It’s a sign that Rivian’s nascent electric vehicle business is accelerating, albeit slowly from the prior quarter in which Rivian reported a net loss of $1.59 billion on a $95 million basis. revenue dollars. Still, the company beat Wall Street revenue expectations by about $26 million.
The earnings report also indicated that Rivian still has some way to go before it can deliver on its promise to disrupt the auto industry with beautifully designed, emission-free, adventure-themed trucks and SUVs. The automaker said it expects to spend $700 million in additional cash before the end of the year.
The earnings report follows a positive production update in which Rivian said it manufactured 4,401 vehicles in the three-month period, a 72% increase from the previous quarter, and delivered 4 467 vehicles, an increase of 267%. The company did not provide ventilation between the R1T trucks and its electric delivery van (EDV) being built for Amazon. (Deliveries of the R1S SUV have been delayed until later this year.)
The company will still need to produce 18,046 vehicles over the next eight months if it is to meet its target of 25,000 built this year, or about 9,023 vehicles per quarter. It won’t be an easy task, but it’s certainly within the realm of possibility. In the latest earnings call, Rivian said it had more than 90,000 reservations for R1T and R1S vehicles. Now, the automaker reports it has grown to around 98,000 reservations.
Still, the company had to navigate rough waters to get here. Last month, Rivian laid off about 6% of its 14,000 employees, or about 800 people, citing the need to cut costs to accelerate development of future versions of its electric trucks and SUVs.
Ahead of the earnings report, Wedbush’s Dan Ives said Rivian was showing signs of improvement. After encountering “major issues outside of the gates,” Rivian is “beginning to find its sea legs,” Ives wrote in a note, adding that the company has the potential “to be a major EV stalwart in the world.” over the next decade”.
But a recent price hike and news that revised EV tax credits would change the landscape for EV buyers has Rivian reacting. Under the new climate bill introduced by Senate Democrats, more expensive electric vehicles (sedans over $55,000 for new cars and pickups and SUVs over $80,000) would not qualify for the $7,500 tax credit.
Some configurations of Rivian’s electric truck and SUV will almost certainly be too expensive to qualify for the credit, which could lower demand. Rivian also raised the prices of its two models by 20%, sending its stock price plummeting and forcing CEO RJ Scaringe to issue a public apology.
In response, the company emailed customers and posted a support response on its website advising them to sign a “binding contract” before the bill takes effect to lock in their credit. tax of $7,500. But he also admits he can’t “guarantee eligibility” for the incentive.
Rivian reports that he has $15.5 billion in cash. This will be very helpful for the automaker if it expects even bigger losses for the year.