The electric vehicle market is poised for a major resurgence. Amazon and Ford backed a highly-hyped EV company just filed for public trading at an $80-billion valuation.
Rivian plans to deliver its first vehicle next month and will quickly become a major competitor to Tesla. It will also diversify a new frontier for the American EV market, pickup trucks.
Pickup Wars
As the U.S., China and Europe set emissions goals, carmakers are racing to produce electric cars. Traditional gas-powered engines will be out of reach in the next decades.
Rivian's electric pickup will be pitted against Ford (one Rivian's investors) for America’s automotive soul. The iconic, gas-powered Ford F-150 pickup is America's most-sold vehicle. In 2020, Americans purchased more pickup trucks than cars.
Rivian has raised $10.5 million and plans to build a $5-billion Texas facility. Its initial electric pickups are due for release in the next few weeks.
GMC's electric Hummer pickup will be released by the end this year, and Ford's electric F-150 in spring 2022. The launch of Tesla's Cybertruck was originally scheduled for this year. However, delays have caused it to be delayed and will not debut until at most next year.
Although Tesla is the most valuable EV manufacturer in the world, investors have shown a lot of faith in the wider sector. Lucid Motors went public last month, but has yet to deliver a single vehicle. It is now worth $34 billion. This is roughly half the value of General Motors which was 100 years old in 2008.
Unexpected Development: Tesla filed to start selling electricity directly in Texas this weekend. Although plans are not clear, the company is expanding its business lines in both battery units and solar panels.
