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.
Nasdaq 100 weighting values May 1, 2023 (Source: Nasdaq)
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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President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform moved a step closer to having a bitcoin exchange-traded fund available to everyday investors.
NYSE Arca, the all-electronic arm of the New York Stock Exchange that handles most ETF trading, filed on Tuesday to list a bitcoin fund linked to the president’s media company, the latest sign of Trump’s expanding push into the crypto world. Known as a 19b-4 form, the filing is required before regulators can decide whether to allow the fund to launch and trade on a U.S. exchange.
Called the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF, the fund is designed to track the price of bitcoin and offer a simpler way for investors to gain exposure without holding the asset directly. The filing follows an announced partnership between Trump Media and Crypto.com in March to bring a suite of digital asset products to market later this year, pending regulatory approval.
Those planned offerings include baskets of cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and Crypto.com’s native Cronos token, combined with traditional securities. The products will be branded under Trump Media and made available to global investors through major brokerage platforms and the Crypto.com app, which serves more than 140 million users worldwide.
Since the January 2024 launch of spot bitcoin ETFs, the market has swelled to more than $130 billion in total assets. BlackRock‘s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounts for the lion’s share, with nearly $69 billion in assets, making it the largest digital asset manager in the world.
Trump is the majority owner of Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group, which has made a series of crypto-aligned moves in recent months — from trademarking digital asset products to unveiling a $2.5 billion bitcoin treasury plan last week in Las Vegas. If approved, the ETF would represent one of the most politically connected entries into the booming market for bitcoin funds.
The third of a quintet of West Virginia solar farms just came online, and while that’s a renewable milestone, there’s a disappointing hitch.
3 out of 5 West Virginia solar farms are online
FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison have launched a 5.75 megawatt (MW), 17,000-panel solar farm at Marlowe in Berkeley County. The new solar farm sits on about 36 acres of land along I-81 and the Potomac River – land that used to store ash from the retired R. Paul Smith Power Station.
In 2022, FirstEnergy wrapped up a major cleanup effort, pulling more than 3 million tons of ash from the site to be reused in cement manufacturing. With the landfill officially closed, the company cleared the way to turn the former waste site into a clean energy generator as part of its solar program. Fifty-four local union workers constructed the solar farm, which features US-made solar panels, a racking system, and electrical equipment.
It’s the third of Mon Power and Potomac Edison’s five solar farms that will generate up to 50 MW of clean energy combined. The companies completed their first solar farm at Fort Martin Power Station (18.9 MW) in early 2024, and their Rivesville solar site (5.5 MW) came online last fall. In total, the companies now have 30 MW of solar capacity.
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Electrek’s Take
Combined, the five projects will create more than 87,000 Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) available for purchase by customers for 4 cents per kilowatt hour in addition to normal rates. Aside from the essential benefit of cutting carbon emissions, there isn’t anything else in it for customers, apart from spending, on average, an extra $40 or so a month out of the goodness of your heart to go solar. Heck, you don’t even get a T-shirt.
Mon Power and Potomac Edison – why are customers being charged MORE to buy into solar in West Virginia? That’s a stick, not a carrot. (And WV? Coal’s not coming back. It doesn’t matter what Trump says.)
But solar growth anywhere is something to be cheerful about, and solar energy in coal-state West Virginia is progressing. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, as of Q4 2024, 205 MW of solar is installed in West Virginia. So, it’s no surprise that it’s at the bottom – it’s ranked 49th in the US for the amount of solar installed. However, it’s projected to reach 40th place over the next five years with 1,064 MW, so at least it’s expected to improve.
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Is the Kia EV4 GT the affordable electric sports car we’ve been waiting for? Kia’s first global electric sedan is about to get a sporty upgrade. After the EV4 GT was spotted in public, we’re finally getting a glimpse of the interior.
Kia EV4 GT spotted, revealing first look at the interior
The EV4 arrives as one of the most highly anticipated electric cars of 2025. After opening orders in Korea earlier this year, Kia will launch it in Europe later this year and the US in 2026.
Kia’s electric sedan starts at just 41.92 million won, or around $30,000 in Korea. Although prices for Europe and North America have yet to be revealed, the entry-level EV is expected to start at around $35,000 to $40,000.
Despite its typical four-door design, Kia labels it as an “entirely new type of EV sedan” with a wide stance and fastback silhouette.
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Although the EV4 already has that sports car look, Kia is about to introduce an upgraded GT variant that could be a true Tesla Model 3 Performance challenger.
Kia EV4 GT-Line (Source: Kia)
Who could forget the EV6 GT? It hit the market in 2022 as “the most powerful Kia production vehicle ever.” With 576 hp, the high-performance EV could hit 0 to 60 mph in just 3.4 secs, faster than the average Ferrari or Lamborghini.
With significant advancements in battery technology, powertrain, and other areas over the past few years, the EV4 GT will likely offer even more.
Kia EV4 GT-Line (Source: Kia)
The EV4 GT was spotted outside Kia and Hyundai’s facility in Korea, and a few spy photos give us a glimpse of the interior for the first time.
The new video from HealerTV reveals a few interior upgrades the GT model will get over the standard EV4. As you can see, it resembles the EV9 GT interior almost identically. The only slight difference that we can see is the different material on the upper part of the seating.
Kia EV4 GT interior first look (Source: HealerTV)
Like the EV6 GT and EV9 GT, the EV4 GT will also include an adjustable ambient lighting feature, allowing you to customize the interior color and brightness.
Although it’s covered, the EV4 GT is expected to feature Kia’s new ccNC infotainment system. The panoramic curved display includes dual 12.3″ driver and navigation screens.
Kia EV4 GT-Line interior (Source: Kia)
The exterior is likely to receive a more aggressive front-end design and larger wheels, similar to those of other Kia GT vehicles. Although the final specifications have yet to be revealed, the EV4 GT is expected to feature an all-wheel-drive (AWD) dual-motor powertrain.
In Korea, the EV4 is available in two battery options: 58.2 kWh and 81.4 kWh, offering a driving range of 237 miles or 331 miles (533 km). The GT variant is likely to use the larger 81.4 kWh battery pack, similar to other GT models.
2026 Kia EV4 electric sedan (Source: Kia)
Kia will launch the EV4 in the US next year, featuring a built-in NACS port to access Tesla Superchargers and an EPA-estimated driving range of up to 330 miles. Prices will be revealed closer to launch, but the EV4 is expected to start at around $35,000 to $40,000. The GT variant could cost upwards of $50,000 to $55,000, with the 2025 Kia EV6 GT starting at $63,800.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance starts at $54,990 in the US with 298 miles range and a 0 to 60 mph time in 2.9 seconds.
Will the Kia EV4 GT match it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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