It’s
earnings
season,
and
anyone
invested
in
the
idea
that
electric
vehicles
are
the
future
of
transportation
is
all
over
Tesla.
But
Elon
Musk’s
company
isn’t
the
only
one
putting
all
its
bets
on
battery-electric
vehicles.
Three
other
so-called
“pure
EV
plays”
—
Rivian,
Lucid
Motors,
and
Fisker
—
also
posted
their
earnings
this
week.
And
sifting
through
the
numbers
reveals
some
worrisome
trends.
For
years,
it
was
assumed
that
Tesla
as
well
as
the
dozen
or
so
other
pure
EV
companies
it
helped
spawn,
would
outmaneuver
the
legacy
automakers
thanks
to
a
laser
focus
on
electric
powertrains
and
battery
production.
But
today,
it’s
the
legacy
automakers
that
are
posting
healthy
profits
while
the
pure
EV
companies
flounder.
Price
cuts,
politics,
and
a
stubborn
belief
that
charging
an
EV
is
still
too
hard
is
holding
a
lot
of
people
back.
And
the
Tesla
imitators
are
taking
it
square
on
the
chin.
Rivian,
Lucid,
and
Fisker
all
appear
to
be
in
various
stages
of
emergency.
Let’s
start
with
the
most
endangered
and
go
from
there.
Photo
by
Sean
O’Kane
/
The
Verge
Fisker
Henrik
Fisker’s
second
attempt
at
building
a
car
company
from
scratch
appears
on
the
same
downward
trajectory
as
his
first.
The
latest
news
comes
not
from
the
company
itself
but
from
the
contract
manufacturer
that
makes
Fisker’s
only
model,
the
Fisker
Ocean
SUV.
The
contractor,
Magna
International,
published
its
earnings
this
week
in
which
it
basically
wipes
its
hands
of
Fisker
by
stating
that
it
won’t
be
making
any
more
Oceans
for
the
struggling
company.
“Our
current
Outlook
assumes
no
further
production
of
the
Fisker
Ocean.”
“Our
current
Outlook
assumes
no
further
production
of
the
Fisker
Ocean,”
Magna
says.
Moreover,
the
company
is
facing
$75
million
in
losses
based
on
its
relationship
with
Fisker.
On
top
of
all
of
that,
Fisker’s
Austrian
subsidiary
filed
for
restructuring,
which
is
roughly
equivalent
to
filing
for
Chapter
11
bankruptcy.
In
its
most
recent
filing
with
the
US
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission,
the
company
said
it
only
had
$50
million
left
in
the
bank.
Fisker
was
already
on
the
ropes,
but
this
could
be
the
kill
shot.
The
struggling
EV
company previously
slashed
the
price
of
the
Ocean
by
nearly
40
percent
as
it
looks
for
a
miracle
to
avoid
going
out
of
business.
It’s
facing
a
$13
million
lawsuit
from
the
firm
that
developed
Fisker’s Pear
crossover and
Alaska
pickup
truck.
And
the
company
was
recently
delisted from
the
New
York
Stock
Exchange
for
failure
to
keep
its
share
price
above
$1.
With
no
EV,
dwindling
cash
funds,
and
an
exodus
from
the
public
markets,
Fisker
is
running
out
of
options.
Rivian
Everyone’s
favorite
outdoorsy
EV
company
is
facing
a
serious
cash
crunch.
The
company
lost
$1.45
billion
in
the
first
quarter
of
2024,
up
from
a
$1.35
billion
loss
in
Q1
of
2023
—
which
is
a
staggering
level
of
cash
burn.
Fortunately,
it
has
$7.9
billion
of
cash
and
cash
equivalents
on
hand,
but
it
acknowledges
that
further
cuts
will
be
necessary
if
it’s
ever
going
to
achieve
stability.
Rivian
has
already
gone
through
several
rounds
of
layoffs
in
its
short
history,
but
it’s
possible
more
could
be
on
the
horizon.
Everyone’s
favorite
outdoorsy
EV
company
is
facing
a
serious
cash
crunch
The
good
news
is
that
a
lot
of
key
indicators
are
trending
upward:
production
increased
48
percent
year
over
year;
deliveries
are
up
over
70
percent;
and
revenue
increased
over
80
percent.
The
company
says
its
outlook
remains
strong
thanks
to
several
decisions
to
reduce
capital
expenditures
by
moving
production
of
the
next-gen
R2
vehicles
to
its
Normal,
Illinois,
facility.
Once
it’s
finished
retooling
the
factory,
Rivian
says
it
will
have
enough
space
to
build
215,000
vehicles
annually,
including
155,000
R2s
—
which
seems
wildly
optimistic
considering
the
current
state
of
customer
demand
for
EVs.
Still,
Rivian
finds
itself
stuck
in
the
“EV
valley
of
death,”
in
which
it
has
scaled
up
production
but
isn’t
bringing
in
enough
revenue
to
cover
its
operational
costs.
It’s
an
especially
vulnerable
place
for
a
young
company
to
be.
And
Rivian
lacks
a
financial
benefactor
with
bottomless
pockets
like
Lucid
has
with
Saudi
Arabia’s
Public
Investment
Fund.
Photo
by
Tim
Stevens
for
The
Verge
Lucid
Speaking
of,
the
luxury
EV
marque
doesn’t
produce
as
many
vehicles
as
Rivian,
so
it
lost
considerably
less
money
this
past
quarter.
Lucid
brought
in
$172
million
in
the
first
three
months
of
the
year,
a
15
percent
increase
year
over
year.
It
lost
$680.9
million,
down
from
$779.5
million
lost
in
Q1
of
2023.
As
such,
it
is
sitting
on
a
$2.2
billion
pile
of
cash
(and
cash
equivalents).
But
the
price
war
with
Tesla
and
others
has
taken
a
toll.
Lucid
has
been
slashing
its
prices,
most
recently
by
as
much
as
$7,000
for
its
Air
Pure
sedan
with
rear-wheel
drive.
And
the
luxury
EV
maker
has
struggled
to
generate
demand
for
its
premium-priced
vehicles, producing
only
8,428
vehicles
in
2023,
of
which
only
6,001
were
delivered
to
customers.
Lucid
also
laid
off 18
percent
of
its
workforce and
cut
production
targets
multiple
times.
Still,
having
the
vast
wealth
of
the
Saudi
Public
Investment
Fund
in
its
back
pocket
has
paid
dividends.
Weeks
before
releasing
its
earnings
report,
Lucid
said
it’s
raising
an
additional
$1
billion
from
the
fund,
sending
its
shares
to
their
highest
level
in
months.
The
Public
Investment
Fund
already
owns
a
controlling
stake,
60
percent,
of
Lucid,
which
illustrates
the
automaker’s
strategic
advantage
over
its
struggling
competitors.
They
will
all
continue
to
lose
money
in
the
near
term
as
Tesla
continues
to
wage
a
grueling
price
war
and
customers
continue
to
waffle
over
when
and
how
to
make
the
switch
to
EVs.
But
while
Rivian
bleeds
money
and
Fisker
flirts
with
bankruptcy,
Lucid
can
keep
zooming
ahead.
Original author: Andrew J. Hawkins
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