Until this month, the U.S. had only one all-electric automaker, the all-mighty Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). Last week, Rivian Automotive Inc. rolled its first pickup truck for regular customers off its assembly line in its Normal, Illinois plant with first deliveries just around the corner. Rivian is doing much more than challenging Tesla- it is delivering the world’s first all-electric pickup truck.
Besides legendary automakers transforming their models for the electrification era, there are also many electric start-ups in the race to deliver a mass-market EV such as Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ: RIDE) but unlike all of them, Rivian is, after a dozen years of effort, on the verge of actually doing it. No wonder that Ford Motor (NYSE:F) invested $500 million back in 2019 and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) ordered 100,000 delivery vans to be shipped in stages through 2030. This July, both Ford and Amazon raised their anties, leading a second, $2.5 billion investment round.
The electric pickup is almost here- and it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen
Two weeks ago, Motor Trend reviewed Rivian’s R1T and it was everything but disappointed as it named it “the most remarkable pickup we’ve ever driven.”
Rivian’s $67,000 pickup will soon be accompanied by two rivals on the road: the electric version of America’s bestselling Ford’s F-150 named the Lightning and Tesla’s Cybertruck. But by the end of the year or perhaps even longer, Rivian will have the roads all to itself.
Besides being America’s favorite vehicle, electrifying pickups is a big deal for the fight against climate change as today’s ICE versions of prodigious drinkers of diesel and gasoline. According to Chris Harto, a policy analyst at Consumer Reports, the gains in reducing emissions will be much larger compared to shifting from a Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) Prius to General Motors’ (NYSE: GM).
2022
Rivian’s electric adventure vehicle will be challenged by many more competitors whose debut is scheduled for 2022 such as Atlis Motor Vehicle’s tech-advanced XT and Hercules Electric Vehicules’ Alpha pickup that will bring luxury into the equation. Both vehicles will be equipped by Worksport Ltd’s (NASDAQ: WKSP) revolutionary solar-powered technology TerraVis.
The road ahead
If Rivian thrives, it will be much more than a quiet ride to historic glory as it will be only the third American automaker in a century to not to die by bankruptcy. The others are Chrysler that was founded in 1925, and Tesla itself in 2003. Additionally, last Wednesday CNBC reported that Rivian is planning its public debut later this year, pegging the company’s value up to $80 billion. If correct, it could end up being one of the biggest US IPOs in a decade. Therefore, this EV startup has more than one way to enter history.
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