? *BREAKING* Rivian & VW Announce Joint Venture -- VW Investing $1B in Rivian and another $4B to form JV for next gen EVs

[MidnightRivian]

Maybe. They've already got several physical buttons in the R1s (e.g. stalks, multi-function wheels and buttons on the steering wheel, window and door buttons, etc.). Adding a few more at VW's request would be extremely doable.

For $5,000,000,000 and 30% stock price boost, I’ll 3d print them a few buttons and send a tweet to RJ asking him nicely to give VW a few customizations for their $5 billion investment.

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[Chrisy]

I think the real reason is simple: as soon as Volkswagen saw the R3X it was like "I MUST HAVE THAT NO MATTER WHAT!"

 

[waitingonanr1s]

I'm waiting for pontification from King Musk regarding this announcement. I don't see how he could resist chiming in....

Of course he will. He's not happy if the folks aren't focused on him for longer than 24 hours, lol.

 

[electruck]

In the past, a lot of people speculated Rivian would partner with Ford for service. Didn't happen then and isn't likely to happen with VW now.

 

[Autolycus]

For $5,000,000,000 and 30% stock price boost, I’ll 3d print them a few buttons and send a tweet to RJ asking him nicely to give VW a few customizations for their $5 billion investment.

Exactly. And the announcements read like VW will actually be licensing the software and ECU architecture from the JV, so the JV will have ongoing revenue in addition to the billions in capital that VW is putting into it. (it's $3 billion cash to Rivian and $2 billion to the JV, if I understand things correctly).

I think with that kind of money they can hire a guy (or gal) to write some code to handle a few physical buttons. (yes, I'm oversimplifying on purpose)

 

[docwhiz]

For $5,000,000,000 and 30% stock price boost, I’ll 3d print them a few buttons and send a tweet to RJ asking him nicely to give VW a few customizations for their $5 billion investment.

For $5,000,000,000 and 30% stock price boost, I’ll 3d print them a few buttons and send a tweet to RJ asking him nicely to give VW a few customizations for their $5 billion investment.

 

[Autolycus]

 

[Supratachophobia]

In the past, a lot of people speculated Rivian would partner with Ford for service. Didn't happen then and isn't likely to happen with VW now.

I don't think the Rivian fundamentals have changed much here. They always needed to raise more money to get them through to R2. The pause on Georgia was almost inevitable and they spun it as good as they could have. But it was only part of the puzzle with a depressed stock price.

I would assume the VW thing has been in the works for 6 months. RJ is excellent about being coy and parroting the same info over and over so as to control the narrative tightly. And I bet dollars to doughnuts, Fisker was in there somewhere whether as a catalyst or at least a consideration.

All that to say Rivian's plan to be a car maker on the world stage, with sales/service all over the globe is the goal. They don't want to partner with VW on that, nor should they. Legacy Auto has been notoriously bad on software dev and outside the box thinking when it comes to how to design around not needing to design around a traditional drivetrain.

Rivian gets money, VW gets the right foot forward with their next EV platform.

 

[jimmyb2]

Wonder how long before this falls apart like the Mercedes JV.

4 wks

“Oh ye of little faith”, to borrow a quote.

 

[sphereobject]

Is this as simple as:

(1) VW is over dependent on Bosch as a supplier
(2) Rivian developed an in-house electronic architecture, competitive to Bosch
(3) VW wants leverage against Bosch for pricing, or wants to control its electronic architecture altogether going forward
(4) Rivian needs cash
(5) Rivian spins out its electronics division to a VW-Rivian JV which will supply electronics to VW and Rivian

Is this it?

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Legacy Auto has been notoriously bad on software dev and outside the box thinking when it comes to how to design around not needing to design around a traditional drivetrain.

My biggest two questions are: how much exclusivity is built into this JV, and who's next? Stellantis looks like a ripe target. Honda is too.

EV or not, cars are becoming increasingly a software defined vehicle. Even the cheapest ICE cars have computers and software defined experience for the driver. There will be other who struggle with software design and development who see this and realize the opportunity. It'll be interesting to see who makes the jump next.

 

[Supratachophobia]

My biggest two questions are: how much exclusivity is built into this JV, and who's next? Stellantis looks like a ripe target. Honda is too.

EV or not, cars are becoming increasingly a software defined vehicle. Even the cheapest ICE cars have computers and software defined experience for the driver. There will be other who struggle with software design and development who see this and realize the opportunity. It'll be interesting to see who makes the jump next.

Honda's EV roadmap is in shambles and Toyota has it's head stuck up a tail pipe. The rest of the manufacturers could be interested.

 

[ovation919]

Some folks knew about this before the release. Sucks being a nobody while the insiders trade on inside information. Someone should look at who was buy early yesterday.

 

[Mellowyellow]

If a large part of this announcement is due to VW's interest in Rivian's software, and we all know how buggy Rivian's software can be, it really begs the big question: How awful is VW's software???? I've never driven a VW EV.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Some folks knew about this before the release. Sucks being a nobody while the insiders trade on inside information. Someone should look at who was buy early yesterday.

Could have bet that something good was getting announced at the shareholders meeting. I for one did not.

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