Shares of Rivian $RIVN dropped 6.6% on Tuesday, touching an intraday peak of $16.92 before pulling back to close at $15.73, as the electric vehicle maker began delivering its new R2 SUV to reservation holders. The S&P 500 lost 0.3% on the day.
Rivian stock closed down 6.6% on Tuesday as the company began delivering its lower-priced R2 SUV and pulled forward an entry-level model
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Shares of Rivian $RIVN dropped 6.6% on Tuesday, touching an intraday peak of $16.92 before pulling back to close at $15.73, as the electric vehicle maker began delivering its new R2 SUV to reservation holders. The S&P 500 lost 0.3% on the day.
The declines came even as Rivian announced it was moving up the timeline for an entry-level R2 model — priced at roughly $45,000 — from late 2027 to next summer, according to CNBC. Expert reviews of the R2 released Tuesday were largely positive.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe committed to gross-margin positivity on every R2 configuration, across a price range spanning approximately $45,000 to $58,000. Scaringe said the company expects the sweet spot for sales to be in the low $50,000s once full R2 production is online.
The R2 is central to Rivian's push toward profitability. The company reported a third consecutive quarter of positive gross profit in its most recent earnings, though its automotive segment posted a gross profit loss of $62 million in the first quarter. Last year's vehicle output totaled 42,247 units, and the company recorded losses of $3.6 billion over the same period. A previously stated goal of achieving adjusted profitability by 2027 was quietly dropped earlier this year, with no replacement target announced.
Scaringe told CNBC that profitability depends on scale the company does not yet have. A multibillion-dollar manufacturing facility under development in Georgia, targeted to come online in late 2028, was cited as the key to generating enough throughput to absorb overhead. "Georgia brings the volume to generate the gross margin for the vehicle sales that covers everything," he said.
On Tuesday, Rivian began letting reservation holders order the R2. Customers got email invitations to place their orders. A buyer’s spot in line depends on when they reserved and how close they are to a Rivian service center. The first Launch Package trim starts at $57,990. The version under $50,000 is not expected until the first half of 2027.
In the weeks before the R2 launch, Rivian shares had gained 20%, according to Barron's. On a year-to-date basis the shares remain 15% lower, though they have gained 17% when measured against the same point a year ago.
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