MSNBC Article: Rivian Falls Apart

[Headingley]

The main points of the article are reasonable:

1. The stock is way way down
2. A promising relationship with Mercedes is on "hold"
3. Overall production is relatively low
4. Apparently there is a huge negative gap between profit and ongoing costs
5. The market has compelling new models coming to market


Regardless of the reason the article was written, the above points should be carefully mulled over. Most of us here are fans of Rivian...but you shouldn't let that prevent you from being realistic.

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[Thud]

Yah I’m sure Musk has gone from hero to zero for many of you since he’s no longer on your team politically…however he has said Tesla was once within hours of running out of capital.

I’ve no crystal ball but work in FS and there’s good reason to believe there’s recession by Q2- a deep one where even some healthy companies won’t survive. Very bad timing for any company with a huge burn rate…

It's one thing to be on the "other team" politically, but something else entirely to be intentionally divisive and go out of one's way to insult a large part of the core customer base while elevating disinformation that singles out individuals putting them at risk of harassment or worse. All in the name of driving up Twitter platform usage.
But anyway... I digress.

I was only pointing out the irony in that Tesla is now cited as an established threat to Rivian when Tesla has a long history of nay-sayers predicting Tesla's imminent demise.

 

[Count Orlok]

Yah I’m sure Musk has gone from hero to zero for many of you since he’s no longer on your team politically…however he has said Tesla was once within hours of running out of capital.

I’ve no crystal ball but work in FS and there’s good reason to believe there’s recession by Q2- a deep one where even some healthy companies won’t survive. Very bad timing for any company with a huge burn rate…

it's not about politics. the guy is trying to run several firms at once and in doing so has raised questions about his competence at running any of them.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

It's one thing to be on the "other team" politically, but something else entirely to be intentionally divisive and go out of one's way to insult a large part of the core customer base while elevating disinformation that singles out individuals putting them at risk of harassment or worse. All in the name of driving up Twitter platform usage.
But anyway... I digress.

I was only pointing out the irony in that Tesla is now cited as an established threat to Rivian when Tesla has a long history of nay-sayers predicting Tesla's imminent demise.

To pretend that this didn’t happen and was protected and allowed from one side of the isle before is either ignorant or intentionally dishonest. Just look at all the Twitter files that have been released showing all the way from the top brass an intentional and deliberate effort to limit stories and factual information that would hurt their preferred political party.

All Elon did was make political bias EQUALLY represented. If you don’t like the new biased and hateful presence from toxic people on the right where were you with all the toxic and hateful left leaning stuff that’s been posted there unchallenged for YEARS?

 

[Donald Stanfield]

it's not about politics. the guy is trying to run several firms at once and in doing so has raised questions about his competence at running any of them.

Based on what metrics exactly? Tesla is an extremely profitable company per unit, much more than legacy auto. Twitter is undergoing a much needed corporate restructuring which is exactly what I’d do as CEO.

This comes off as snarkier than intended. I am genuinely curious what you’re basing your comment on.

 

[Thud]

To pretend that this didn’t happen and was protected and allowed from one side of the isle before is either ignorant or intentionally dishonest. Just look at all the Twitter files that have been released showing all the way from the top brass an intentional and deliberate effort to limit stories and factual information that would hurt their preferred political party.

All Elon did was make political bias EQUALLY represented. If you don’t like the new biased and hateful presence from toxic people on the right where were you with all the toxic and hateful left leaning stuff that’s been posted there unchallenged for YEARS?

About that.... Twitter has a history of bias but it's the opposite of what people or claiming:

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59011271

But hey, at least you're aware of who the toxic people are on the right.

 

[Count Orlok]

Based on what metrics exactly? Tesla is an extremely profitable company per unit, much more than legacy auto. Twitter is undergoing a much needed corporate restructuring which is exactly what I’d do as CEO.

This comes off as snarkier than intended. I am genuinely curious what you’re basing your comment on.

I said it raised questions not that there is a clear, rational metric. The perception of mishandling tesla by ranting on the bird app among other weird behavior is enough to turn off some investors not to mention current and potential tesla customers.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I said it raised questions not that there is a clear, rational metric. The perception of mishandling tesla by ranting on the bird app among other weird behavior is enough to turn off some investors not to mention current and potential tesla customers.

Fair enough. I’ll grant you that his rants aren’t exactly a good look for his leadership. It’s my personal belief that a good company is as Apolitical as possible and trolling one side of the isle may not be the wisest business decision.

With that said I don’t think it much matters. In our current political climate any time a partisan institution is challenged, even by someone trying to not take a stance, that person will be slandered simply for not going along with the narrative. The “other side” will paint you the way Elon has been painted no matter what, simply because he’s stopping previous Twitter bias. I think he knows that, and is having fun with it.

 

[Thud]

Based on what metrics exactly? Tesla is an extremely profitable company per unit, much more than legacy auto. Twitter is undergoing a much needed corporate restructuring which is exactly what I’d do as CEO.

This comes off as snarkier than intended. I am genuinely curious what you’re basing your comment on.

A primary driver for Tesla's profitability is the fact that the Model 3 and Y designs have been simplified to the extend that they are just software platforms on wheels - with the bare minimum amount of hardware required for a functional car. Pretty soon there won't even be control stalks, and parking assist sensors are already gone. That's a double edged sword - it's great for margins, and great for reliability - less stuff to break! But also makes the vehicles less useful in certain ways, where software has yet to show it can fill in the gaps.

Rivian's got a really tough road, because they are also trying to cram the cars full of creature comforts. Stuff that's genuinely useful, and stuff that nobody really asked for (bluetooth speaker?). IT seems like those will be the first to go when Rivian finally starts to prioritize profitability.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

A primary driver for Tesla's profitability is the fact that the Model 3 and Y designs have been simplified to the extend that they are just software platforms on wheels - with the bare minimum amount of hardware required for a functional car. Pretty soon there won't even be control stalks, and parking assist sensors are already gone. That's a double edged sword - it's great for margins, and great for reliability - less stuff to break! But also makes the vehicles less useful in certain ways, where software has yet to show it can fill in the gaps.

Rivian's got a really tough road, because they are also trying to cram the cars full of creature comforts. Stuff that's genuinely useful, and stuff that nobody really asked for (bluetooth speaker?). IT seems like those will be the first to go when Rivian finally starts to prioritize profitability.

Yes it’s going to be interesting if Tesla can compete with legacy auto now that there is competition. He’s not going to be able to scalp people with bare bones cars for much longer, at least not at current price points. When the big guys start making cars with more of the stuff people want for the same price Tesla is going to have to either add value or lower the price.

Legacy auto has a big leg up on those creature comforts over Tesla because as you said Tesla has not really made much of them yet. I think the Rivian approach is smarter, they are going for the tech AND the quality and creature comforts.

Rivian might not be doing either of those two things as good as the champs in either of them, but going forward as the market expands being good at both is going to be the bar that all cars are measured against.

Rivian is in a good spot so far IMO. They are better than legacy auto with tech, and better with creature comforts than Tesla which puts them in a decent spot to sustain business into the future so long as they keep improving both.

 

[Zoidz]

...
Rivian's got a really tough road, because they are also trying to cram the cars full of creature comforts. Stuff that's genuinely useful, and stuff that nobody really asked for (bluetooth speaker?). IT seems like those will be the first to go when Rivian finally starts to prioritize profitability.

Agree. I get what they are doing from a marketing viewpoint with these add-ons. Personally, I would pass on the bluetooth speaker and flashlight if it was an option. This type of stuff fails or is outdated quickly with reference to my intended life span of a vehicle (10-15 years). That's the reason I did not get Navigation in my Avalanche 12 years ago. I have mixed feelings about the inflator. I like that it is tucked away. But if/when it fails, it will probably be $500+ to replace it. I have a $75 inflator from Lowes in my truck now. When it fails, it's another $75. It would not surprise me if these items disappear as time goes on.

 

[BourboNole]

Amazingly he sounds just like he writes. He probably used the same speech to text generator as on this video.

 

[IRun]

MSNBC article? I'll pass

 

[Count Orlok]

MSNBC article? I'll pass

SMFH, it has nothing to do with msnbc.

 

[IRun]

SMFH, it has nothing to do with msnbc.

LOL, that didn't take long
OP literally called out it was an MSNBC article. I'm not going to read it because it is clickbait and trash as most of the articles bashing Rivian tend to be.

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