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skyote

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Another $2.5B led by T Rowe Price & including Amazon.

https://electrek.co/2020/07/10/rivian-secures-billion-funding-tesla-investors/

The company's latest investors include Soros Fund Management LLC, Coatue, Fidelity Management and Research Company and Baron Capital Group. Existing shareholders Amazon and Blackrock increased their investments.


Official Rivian Press Release:

Rivian announces $2.5 billion investment round
Rivian R1T R1S Rivian raises another 2.5B in funding! R1T-Yellow-Overhead-June2020-AndiHedrick-1024x682


Rivian has closed an investment round of $2.5 billion. The financing was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.

“We are excited to continue this journey with Rivian’s innovative and talented team as they now prepare to deliver their groundbreaking products that help shift to a carbon-neutral planet,” said Joe Fath, portfolio manager of T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund.

Participants in this investment round include Soros Fund Management LLC, Coatue, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and Baron Capital Group. Existing shareholders Amazon and funds managed by BlackRock also participated.

“We are focused on the launch of our R1T, R1S and Amazon delivery vehicles. With all three launches occurring in 2021, our teams are working hard to ensure our vehicles, supply chain and production systems are ready for a robust production ramp up. We are grateful for the strong investor support that helps enable us to focus on execution of our products,” said Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe.

No new board seats have been added, and additional details about this investment are not being disclosed at this time.

The investment announcement is Rivian’s first in 2020.

In 2019:

– In February, Rivian announced a $700 million funding round led by Amazon.

– In April, Rivian announced that Ford Motor Company invested $500 million and that the companies would collaborate on a future program.

– In September, Cox Automotive announced its $350 million investment in Rivian, complemented by plans to collaborate on logistics and service.

– In late September, Rivian announced it was developing an electric delivery van for Amazon utilizing Rivian’s skateboard platform and that 100,000 of these vans had been ordered with deliveries starting in 2021.

– In December, Rivian closed an investment round of $1.3 billion. The financing was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. with additional participation from Amazon, Ford Motor Company and funds managed by BlackRock.
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Mjhirsch78

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electruck

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Nice!

Rivian's press release on same here.
 

bajadahl

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I like the statement... "The good news is that they have to have the money needed to bring their vehicles to market at this point. There’s no doubt."

I'll be captain obvious and say.... This is really good news!
 
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skyote

skyote

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I know some of this is investors wanting to capitalize on "the next Tesla", but I can't help but think they are privy to details that we don't yet know.

I'm looking forward to an exciting ride with Rivian. In more ways than one! ;)
 

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Coast2Coast

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Soo much better if you can raise money privately, if your investors know something about your business, like Ford, Cox and even Amazon, and if you've got a CEO like RJ. What's not to like? A CEO with a MIT Ph.D. and active humility? Wow.
 

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Makes me feel better about the staying power of the company to be sure...perhaps they won’t feel obligated to launch with nothing but the highest end trims with this level of runway added to the balance sheet.
 

electruck

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Makes me feel better about the staying power of the company to be sure...perhaps they won’t feel obligated to launch with nothing but the highest end trims with this level of runway added to the balance sheet.
Launching with the highest end trims is in large part about vetting the assembly line and ironing out any kinks as early as possible.
 

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MilliM

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Launching with the highest end trims is in large part about vetting the assembly line and ironing out any kinks as early as possible.
I hadn’t thought of that - it makes sense. I do wonder, with the Tesla juggernaut being what it is, and increasing options from mainstream brands, how many people will want to pay six figures for a brand new car from a (relatively) new company. I guess an extra couple billion in the bank helps with consumer confidence around staying power.

Two very different cars for sure when it comes to off-road prowess (or lack thereof), but if my preorder requires me to spend $100k to get the R1S I may just wait for the all-electric XC90 or even XC100. Love our ICE XC90 (much improved Sensus over our 2018 S90 T8), and Volvo is finally getting some pure electric options nearly into the market.
 

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MilliM, RJ said last year a well equipped, 135 KW (300+ mile range) R1T/R1S with electrochromatic roof would be $69K. This is quite a price drop from the $69K for the lowest range version announced at the LA Auto Show. So, unless you're ordering all of the extras and highest level battery pack, you're probably not looking at $100K.

A really key issue with respect to value is Rivians' skateboard, battery management system, off-road capabilities, air suspension, kinetic hydraulics and other integrated system differences - how much are they worth? Those are features you won't get on a Volvo or anything else for that matter.

For what they are, the Rivians will probably be great values. Go anywhere, do anything vehicles that are safe, powerful and low emissions. You may not need all of that capability - most off-road capable vehicles aren't driven off-road - but you've got it, if you want it.

The skateboard, suspension system including the kinetic hydraulics, battery management system and integrated software architecture to manage vehicle dynamics and performance - all of that in one package. That's a very distinctive value proposition, unmatched in the industry so far, and, dare I say, a relative bargain.

It won't have the luxurious appointments of a high-end Volvo, but I'd never go camping in a XC90 or haul to the dump or load up bikes and head for the Forest of Nisene Marks. But you could do all that in a Rivian and still take the family to town in style for a night out.
 

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Launching with the highest end trims is in large part about vetting the assembly line and ironing out any kinks as early as possible.
I tend to disagree with this. Putting in a fancier stereo or a larger battery pack doesn't significantly alter the assembly line process.
Launching with the higher trims is almost always about cash flow. Certainly in Tesla's case it was an absolute necessity. Rivian seems to be positioned financially where they will not need to push product out the door in order to keep the lights on.
This will allow them to do test runs on the actual assembly line with vehicles that will never be registered, get them out in the field for complete testing, make sure everything is up to the fit and finish standards they want to achieve. Cash flow issues (and stock market pressures) can create a culture of "just get it out the door and we'll figure out how to address any issues later".
 

MilliM

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MilliM, RJ said last year a well equipped, 135 KW (300+ mile range) R1T/R1S with electrochromatic roof would be $69K. This is quite a price drop from the $69K for the lowest range version announced at the LA Auto Show. So, unless you're ordering all of the extras and highest level battery pack, you're probably not looking at $100K.

A really key issue with respect to value is Rivians' skateboard, battery management system, off-road capabilities, air suspension, kinetic hydraulics and other integrated system differences - how much are they worth? Those are features you won't get on a Volvo or anything else for that matter.

For what they are, the Rivians will probably be great values. Go anywhere, do anything vehicles that are safe, powerful and low emissions. You may not need all of that capability - most off-road capable vehicles aren't driven off-road - but you've got it, if you want it.

The skateboard, suspension system including the kinetic hydraulics, battery management system and integrated software architecture to manage vehicle dynamics and performance - all of that in one package. That's a very distinctive value proposition, unmatched in the industry so far, and, dare I say, a relative bargain.

It won't have the luxurious appointments of a high-end Volvo, but I'd never go camping in a XC90 or haul to the dump or load up bikes and head for the Forest of Nisene Marks. But you could do all that in a Rivian and still take the family to town in style for a night out.
Assuming we can get something in this relative price range and configuration around the time my pre-order is deliverable (whenever April 2019 pre-orders are ready) I’d be stoked. I agree with you wholeheartedly around the value proposition and would personally much rather have the go anywhere, do anything over the luxury of the XC90.

At this point I'm leaning toward letting my First Edition Mach E reservation go, stick with Rivian in the hopes that the cost is "reasonable", and will definitively stick with my sub 3K reservation number on the Cybertruck (yes it's a very polarizing design, but I have to admit it grows more and more on me every day). If I end up hating the Cybertruck I'm pretty confident I'd be able to flip it for at least what I paid given how early I *should* be getting it and the perceived demand.
 

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...At this point I'm leaning toward letting my First Edition Mach E reservation go, stick with Rivian in the hopes that the cost is "reasonable"...
I'm in the same boat. My wife's i3s lease expires this coming April, and my disappointment with BMW's general attention to EVs led me to put a deposit on the Mach E, but looking at the per month pricing with Ford's equivalent of a lease ("Ford Options") they seem to believe that the residual value after 3 years is very reduced. Sure BMW is taking something of a bath on these particular cars, but I don't see a $20,000 bath (the residual difference from my calcluations) being an easy sell in the boardroom. I find that difference curious since the MSRP on each vehicle with all the toys is similar. I have a belief that the approach Rivian has taken and the product they're building means their expected residual value will be significantly better, meaning a cheaper lease. The levels of investment in Rivian support that thought to me, since if the investors believed the product would have rapid devaluation then the long term outlook for the investment will be significantly tempered, as would the general attraction of people to the product. Five billion dollars is solid confidence vote.

She's not a truck or large SUV fan - hey Rivian, she'd like the hell out of that Rally Car ... just sayin'
 

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I found this article to bring a good/different perspective. When folks compare Tesla to Rivian one thing that should be mentioned(it's a positive) is “When Tesla was young, they struggled with getting big suppliers to commit,”. Statement of the obvious I know but Rivian has a much more favorable launch scenario than Tesla had. This thing means a lot to Amazon...which is great for the rest of us.
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/in-rivian-amazon-may-have-a-bespoke-automobile-at-its-service
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