Shares of electric-truck start-up Rivian Automotive are experiencing a slight decline today, as competitors announce price cuts and the launch of new electric vehicles. While Rivian stock (ticker: RIVN) is down 1.8% in early trading Monday, the S&P 500 is up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.5%.
The drop in Rivian’s shares follows Tesla’s recent announcement that it has produced the first Cybertruck at its assembly facility in Austin, Texas. The Cybertruck, which was introduced in 2019, will soon hit the roads and directly compete with Rivian’s R1T. As a result, Tesla stock is up 2.7% in early trading.
In addition to Tesla, Ford Motor (F) has also made a move in the electric truck market. Today, Ford announced a price reduction of up to $10,000 on its F-150 Lightning all-electric pickup. Ford and Rivian have been competing for dominance in the U.S. electric truck market for about a year. While Ford delivered more electric trucks than Rivian in the fourth quarter of 2022, Rivian had higher deliveries in the first and second quarter of 2023.
Rivian’s R1T starts under $75,000, while the base model Lightning now starts at about $50,000 (previously $60,000). Tesla’s Cybertruck was originally priced between $40,000 and $70,000 when it was first announced in 2019.
Following Ford’s price cut, Ford stock is down 3.2% in early trading, while General Motors stock (GM) is down 2.2%. Although GM has not made any official announcements, its Chevy Silverado electric pickup is expected to be shipped in the third quarter to initial commercial customers. These full-size pickups, including the Silverado, Lightning, and Cybertruck, are slightly larger than Rivian’s R1T and aim to persuade drivers of gasoline-powered trucks to transition to electric models.
Full-size pickup trucks currently account for approximately 15% of total U.S. light-vehicle sales.
Despite recent success, with its stock rising by approximately 80% over the past three weeks, Rivian now faces concerns about increasing competition in the market. While the company exceeded Wall Street expectations by producing 13,992 vehicles in the second quarter, investors are becoming more cautious.