EV startup stocks Rivian and Lucid sank Thursday after both companies reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue late Wednesday, and announced they are not ramping up production in 2024.
Rivian reported Wednesday a loss of $1.36 per share in Q4 with sales doubling to $1.31 billion. Wall Street expected a loss of $1.35 and revenue totaling $1.28 billion. Looking to 2024, Rivian said it expects production of 57,000 vehicles, remaining flat compared with 2023. The EV startup also predicts consumer and commercial vehicle deliveries to grow by low single-digits in 2024.
The company also announced that it predicts vehicle deliveries in Q1 2024 to be about 10%-15% lower than in Q4 2023 and that it is laying off 10% of its salaried workers.
Elon Musk Weighs In On Rivian Stock
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk posted on X, formerly Twitter, late Wednesday that based on Rivian's quarterly cash on hand, the company could go bankrupt in around six quarters.
"Maybe that trajectory will change, but so far it hasn't," Musk said.
Rivian CFO Claire McDonough told investors Wednesday the company remains "confident that our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments can fund our operations through 2025."
"We aim to maintain a strong balance sheet position by continuing to drive cost efficiencies and improve our vehicle unit economics, while opportunistically evaluating a variety of capital markets available to Rivian ranging across the capital structure," McDonough said on the earnings call.
Rivian stock plunged 25.6% during Thursday's market action and continued to angle lower early Friday. Meanwhile, Lucid stock dove 17% Thursday. Musk took to X once more Thursday afternoon claiming that Rivian needs to "cut costs massively and the exec team needs to live in the factory or they will die."
Along with Rivian, Lucid reported Wednesday a Q4 loss of 29 cents per share with revenue falling 39% to $157 million. Analysts predicted a loss of 30 cents and sales hitting $180 million. Lucid produced 8,428 vehicles in 2023 and delivered 6,001.
For 2024, the company forecasts producing 9,000 vehicles, well below Wall Street's expectations of more than 14,000.
Please follow Kit Norton on X, formerly known as Twitter, @KitNorton for more coverage.
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