Is Rivian (RIVN) at risk of losing its Nasdaq spot after steep stock sell-off?
EV startup Rivian’s (RIVN) stock price is down over 91% from its all-time high set shortly after going public on the Nasdaq exchange in 2021. With share prices falling, Rivian may be at risk of losing its spot in the Nasqaq 100 index.
Rivian stock sell-off
After going public in November 2021 with backing from Ford and Amazon, Rivian held the largest initial public offering (IPO) for an American company since Facebook in 2012.
Valued at over $100 billion after its debut, the hype pushed Rivian stock price to over $170 a share within a week. However, since then, Rivian’s stock has been stuck in what seems to be a never-ending downward spiral.
Despite ramping production from 1,000 EVs built by the end of 2021 to 24,337 last year, Rivian’s stock continued to sell off.
The Federal Reserve moving from easing the economy through the pandemic to suddenly fighting inflation resulted in interest rates rising at the fastest pace in over four decades.
Unprofitable growth companies, including EV stocks like Rivian, were among the hardest hit as investors fled for safer assets.
Rivian stock has plunged from an all-time high of over $172 per share to around $15 today, down 91%. According to JP Morgan Securities, it may be enough to lose its place in the Nasdaq 100.
Will Rivian stock lose its Nasdaq 100 place?
The Nasdaq 100 is a stock market index comprising the 100 largest nonfinancial companies listed on the exchange. Rivian joined the index this past December as part of its yearly rebalancing.
JP Morgan analyst Min Moon (via Automotive News) wrote in a note this week that the Nasdaq 100 generally removes the smallest member of the group if the company is weighted at less than 0.1% for two straight months.
Moon noted that Rivian was below the 0.1% mark as of April 28 and May 31, leading her to believe the EV maker will be kicked out of the index as early as this month (the third Friday in June).
According to Moon, Rivian can be replaced by ON Semiconductor, which is ranked as the top eligible company.
The news comes after bullish analyst Alexander Potter of Piper Sandler downgraded Rivian stock in April, dropping his price target from $63 a share to $15.
Electrek’s Take
Losing its placement in the Nasdaq would be another setback for Rivian. Although Rivian was one of the few EV makers to reaffirm its annual production goal of 50,000 after Q1, the market is what’s spooking investors.
With Rivian spending roughly twice as much to build each vehicle as it sells it for and interest rates rising, investors are hesitant to jump back in.
CEO RJ Scarinje says driving profit is equally essential to ramping production right now as the EV maker has implemented several cost-cutting measures.
Rivian says its second-generation models (R2), due in 2026, are designed to simplify production and improve margins.
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Lucid Motors (LCID) is recruiting more high-profile stars to spotlight its new luxury electric SUV, the Gravity.
The luxury EV maker is teaming up with some of the NBA’s biggest stars, Jalen Brunsen and Josh Hart, in its latest collaboration.
Lucid enlisted Jalen and Josh, teammates on the New York Knicks, for a new market campaign designed to celebrate “those who refuse to settle for the status quo.”
Keep a lookout this Wednesday, October 22, during the New York Knicks home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers to see Jalen and Josh hype the Lucid Gravity electric SUV.
Lucid, Hart, and Brunson plan to showcase “how precise performance, cultural influence, and athletic excellence come together — on the court, on the road, and in the moments that move individuals.” The partnership is the latest as Lucid builds a roster of high-profile celebrities and athletes to promote the brand.
“To be one of the best, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes,” Brunson said, adding “It’s a commitment to improving every day, and never accepting that you can’t reach that next level. I see that same passion for excellence in Lucid.”
Lucid said the collaboration “underscores the brand’s mission to compromise nothing” as it builds a roster of high-profile celebs and athletes to promote the new Gravity electric SUV.
In August, Lucid teamed up with Timothée Chalamet, its first global brand ambassador, for an ad campaign called “Driven.”
Lucid also attended NFL star Travis Kelce’s, Kelce Car Jam last month. For every test drive, Lucid donated $87 to Kelce’s Eighty-Seven and Running Foundation. Kelce founded Eighty-Seven & Running in 2015 to mentor disadvantaged youth, help develop their skills, and motivate them to get out and do their best.
As it ramps up output, the EV maker has been actively promoting the Gravity. Last week, Lucid trolled Tesla on social media in a video asking Elon Musk’s Grok, “What’s the best luxury EV?”
Grok’s answer: The 2025 Lucid Air. Do you agree? ChatGPT and CoPilot said the same.
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Elon Musk has openly threatened to leave Tesla, or at least his role as CEO, if he doesn’t get his ridiculous compensation.
He is now saying the quiet part out loud.
Tesla shareholders are about to vote on a new, controversial compensation package for Elon Musk.
While many are focused on the ridiculous size of the stock options, which could be worth up to $1 trillion, many analysts have highlighted other problems with the package.
A Reuters report last week noted that, with business as usual and a market capitalization growth below the S&P average, Musk could still receive one or even two tranches of his compensation package, worth between $20 billion and $40 billion.
In short, under the rules of the package, Musk could receive the biggest payday in history for returning below average returns.
That’s on top of the CEO already having received more compensation from Tesla than the company has earned in profits since its existence.
One commentator on X pointed out the concern about the first tranche of the compensation plan. Instead of addressing the genuine concern, Musk responded by boasting about Tesla’s market capitalization and suggesting that he won’t be Tesla’s CEO if he doesn’t get the pay:
Tesla is worth more than all other automotive companies combined. Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla? It won’t be me.
The CEO then shared posts encouraging Tesla shareholders to vote for the shareholders meeting, which is happening on November 6th.
Electrek’s Take
There are many issues with this comment. First off, it completely ignores a real problem with the comp package. Even if you believe that Musk would deserve $1 trillion in compensation for bringing Tesla’s valuation to $20 trillion, the package shouldn’t allow for Musk to make tens of billions from below average return.
It looks like the package is being used as a trojan horse to dazzle shareholders with the promise of unlikely crazy returns when the more likely outcome is to give Musk what would still be a record compensation for Tesla delivering a below average return on investment.
The fact that Musk doesn’t want to address this clear issue is a red flag.
Furthermore, Musk is using a dirty card: you play by my rules or I’m gone.
This is what I previously called the ‘Tesla Dilemma’: Elon Musk is destroying Tesla’s profitable car business, but at the current valuation, his lies about self-driving and robots is what is keeping the stock alive.
Therefore, Tesla shareholders are disincentivized to vote against Musk if he threatens to leave because he would leave with his stock pumping lies – leading in the stock crashing.
He has a complete hold on Tesla and he is going to force shareholders to give him another ridiculous stock compensation package.
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