Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Aug 26, 2025

Tesla's Elon Musk trolls Rivian after blockbuster IPO

Tesla's Elon Musk trolls Rivian after blockbuster IPO

Following its first two days of trading, Rivian is valued at more than $100 billion

Despite Rivian's blockbuster IPO, Elon Musk has warned that the "true test" for the electric vehicle maker and Tesla competitor's success will be to achieve high production and breakeven cash flow.

"There have been hundreds of automotive startups, both electric & combustion, but Tesla is [the] only American carmaker to reach high volume production & positive cash flow in past 100 years," Musk tweeted.

A representative for Rivian did not immediately return FOX Business' request for comment on Musk's tweet.

Rivian, which is backed by Amazon and favored by Jeff Bezos, raised approximately $11.9 billion in its IPO after selling 153 million shares at $78 apiece. In addition, the company has granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 22.95 million additional shares at the IPO price.

Following its first two days of trading, Rivian is valued at more than $100 billion, above the market values of automotive giants General Motors and Ford Motor Company. Amazon holds a 22.4% stake in Rivian, while Ford holds a 14.4% stake. Shares are up approximately 3% as of the time of publication Friday.


Though Rivian has approximately 55,400 preorders for its R1T pickup and R1S SUV and has reached an agreement with Amazon for 100,000 electric delivery vans by 2030, the company has not generated any material revenue to date. Rivian said in its amended IPO prospectus that it will lose up to $1.28 billion in the third quarter and that revenue will range from zero to $1 million.

Rivian began production and deliveries of the the R1T in September, which starts at $67,500 and has an EPA-estimated 314 miles of range on a single charge. As of Oct. 31, Rivian produced 180 R1Ts and delivered 156 R1Ts. The R1S, which starts at $70,000 and has an EPA-estimated 316 miles of range on a single charge, is expected to begin deliveries in December following completion of ongoing vehicle validation and all required testing.
The company expects to produce approximately 1,200 R1Ts and 25 R1Ss and deliver approximately 1,000 R1Ts and 15 R1Ss by the end of 2021. In addition, Rivian anticipates its preorders will be filled by the end of 2023. Meanwhile, the company expects to produce and deliver 10 electric delivery vans in 2021.

Rivian recently began production and deliveries of its R1T passenger pickup truck in September, which starts at $67,500 and has an EPA-estimated 314 miles of range. 


Rivian's factory in Normal, Illinois, is currently equipped to produce up to 150,000 vehicles annually. Rivian is aiming to produce approximately 1,310 R1 vehicles and 1,710 commercial vehicles per week, which equates to 65,000 R1 vehicles and 85,000 commercial vehicles, including EDVs, annually.

"We expect to reach a vehicle production rate, which, when annualized, would result in us using 100% of the facility’s current installed capacity of up to 150,000 vehicles by late 2023," Rivian wrote in the filing. "Further, we believe that we will be able to increase the annual production capacity of the Normal Factory up to 200,000 vehicles in 2023 as we introduce additional R1 platform variants and expand the facility. Over the next couple of years, we expect to establish additional domestic production capacity in order to support our product development roadmap and fulfill future anticipated demand."

This isn't the first time Musk has taken a swipe at the competition.

In August, Musk tweeted "Don’t want to be unreasonable, but maybe they should be required to deliver at least one vehicle per billion dollars of valuation *before* the IPO?" in response to reports that Rivian's IPO would value the company's at approximately $80 billion. He also tweeted laughing emojis in response to a report that Rivian was developing a Level 3 autonomous driving system with hands-free capability, similar to Tesla's Full Self-Driving feature.

In October, Musk also responded to a report that the R1T production rate stalled at just over 1 electric truck per day, tweeting "prototypes are trivial compared to scaling production & supply chain."

"If those are solved, achieving positive gross margin is the next nightmare," he added. "Starting a second new vehicle line before first is working will divide resources & amplify probability of failure."

In addition to Musk's Twitter jabs, Tesla has previously filed a lawsuit against Rivian, accusing the company of stealing employees and trade secrets.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
×