MSNBC Article: Rivian Falls Apart

[ImAI]

i wouldn't be surprised if this Douglas A. McIntyre is on elon musk's payroll

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[obfuscurity]

I'm telling you, the guy is just shorting a bunch of tech stocks. Look at his archive of posts and it's pretty clear what he is / isn't investing in.

 

[ohseedee]

I just asked this of chatGBT to "write a negative article about rivian in financial trouble that may result in them going out of business due to the Mercedes-Benz deal falling apart." Which is better?

"It seems that the future of electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian is in jeopardy, as reports have emerged that the company's highly-anticipated deal with Mercedes-Benz has fallen apart.
Rivian had been counting on the partnership with Mercedes-Benz to help finance its ambitious plans for growth and expansion. However, the German automaker has reportedly decided to cancel the deal due to concerns about Rivian's financial stability.
This news comes as a major blow to Rivian, which has already been struggling to stay afloat in the face of intense competition from established automakers. The company has faced significant challenges in recent years, including layoffs and reports of financial difficulties.
The failed Mercedes-Benz deal is likely to put even more pressure on Rivian, and there are growing concerns that the company may be forced to declare bankruptcy if it cannot secure alternative funding.
This would be a tragic end for a company that was once seen as a leader in the electric vehicle market. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Rivian, but it is clear that the company is in dire straits and may not be able to survive without a major financial lifeline."

 

[05soxfan]

Truthfully, this article is the same kind of dog sh*t stuff my mom would send to me as well. I hope Rivian knocks Q4 deliveries out of the park and that they can get their service act together. They do need to turn the tide of pessimism around, however.

 

[COdogman]

Let's not forget how many years it took Tesla to gain any respect from the automotive "journalists" and the other automakers. It takes time.... not that this hack is a "journalist" in any way.

 

[DirtyJester]

He’s just mad cuz his reservation is at the end of the line.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

My mom asked if I’d seen this MSNBC article Rivian Falls Apart, which I hadn’t. I’ll be as kind as I can be and simply write that it seems heavily biased to me. Did anyone else see this and have any thoughts?

That article was literally the most painful read ever.

Editor "you've got five minutes to write an article against Rivian before the deadline"
Journalist "uhhh that's a nice truck, what is it?"
Editor "It's a Rivian"
Journalist "yeah but who makes it?"

 

[sillygoose]

Seems like he doesn’t like anything. How researched can a post be when he has 2-4 to knock out every day.

https://247wallst.com/author/douglas-mcintyre/

And then there is this

”Rivian faces several buzz saws. The most powerful of these is the Ford F-150 Lightning. It is the electric version … base to which to market the Lightening.”

Seems the editor-in-chief needs an editor or should proofread his work. Just pointless click bait, plenty of more useful Rivian content out there to read.

 

[MXA121]

Love it when articles drop the price. Just picked up some RIVN for $24 and change today. Not complaining about that.

 

[crashmtb]

That article was literally the most painful read ever.

Editor "you've got five minutes to write an article against Rivian before the deadline"
Journalist "uhhh that's a nice truck, what is it?"
Editor "It's a Rivian"
Journalist "yeah but who makes it?"

Editor? What editor?

 

[MountainBikeDude]

Editor? What editor?

It's funny because afterwards, I looked to see who had written the article, and low and behold, the guys the editor in chief for his little news agency. Wow. And How?!?

 

[SoCal Rob]

Truthfully, this article is the same kind of dog sh*t stuff my mom would send to me as well. I hope Rivian knocks Q4 deliveries out of the park and that they can get their service act together. They do need to turn the tide of pessimism around, however.

When I replied to my mom’s message I wrote, “Something tells me whoever wrote that article is trying to short the stock or they were influenced by someone who is.”

 

[SASSquatch]

Here is a dose of cold reality folks. The next 24 months are going to make or break Rivian and the path ahead is incredibly difficult.

We can all wear our rose colored glasses and laugh off the MSNBC article, but there is plenty of truth in what they are reporting, even if there is bias.

The Ford Lightning just won 2023 Motor Trend Truck of the year. What does that mean for Rivian? It means that Ford has a very compelling product and they have the manufacturing chops, efficiencies of scale, and capital to make a ton of these. For as much excitement as there is for the R1T/R1S - Ford and other manufacturers sell a ridiculous amount of trucks that are more in the mold of a work truck every year - the market is massive.

Rivian is spending money at an alarming rate. They are trying to burn through all of us pre-order holders who are dragging down their margins, ramping production across three lines, building out service centers and a charging network. All of that is incredibly expensive.

Do you know how much of that Ford is doing? Almost none of it because they don't need to - with the exception of increasing production on the Lightening.

We are headed for an economic downturn when people are much more likely to hold off on big ticket items. Car loan interest rates are through the roof and unlikely to come down until sometime middle to late next year. Rivian needs to produce and sell as many trucks as they can and keep the reservation numbers through the roof and as more competition comes on line (including the Cyber Truck) it is going to become a lot more difficult.

I'm all in on Rivian. I have a lot invested as a shareholder, and as a reservation holder. I want them to succeed, but I think they have a very difficult road ahead.

 

[Marchin_MTB]

I dont doubt that the coming years will be very challenging and that the long term viability of the company is something we should not take for granted. Just not ready to write angry/drunk articles about Rivian's imminent demise yet.

 

[scottie]

Rivian is currently fighting to survive.

Yes, they raised a lot of money last Fall, but with their current burn rate and their unit costs >> sale prices for all of the pre-March 2022 reservations, there will be massive financial pain for the foreseeable future.

Additional headwinds:

• Charging network reliability, cost, and availability
• Service backlog
• Thousands of disappointed customers waiting in the queue with a suboptimal communication strategy/execution
• EV tax credit unavailable for R1S
• EV tax credit unavailable for a large fraction of buyer pool due to income limits
• Ford F150 at scale (bi-directional current)
• Cyber truck at scale
• Snow/ice performance
• Recession
• Chip shortages

Amazon will not wait, they will always optimize for speed and efficiency. If Rivian cannot deliver the vans on schedule, I don't see how the company survives independently.

Maybe Rivian would be a good acquisition if they can show there's a path to unit profitability.

There is a fair probability Rivian fails, 1/4 chance it occurs in 2023 and 1/3 chance it occurs in 2024. If you think there's zero probability Rivian fails, I've got a $72,000 truck I'd like to sell you in 2027, please send me $1000 today.

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