Why Rivian Stock Tumbled in December and Continues to Fall
After a stunning debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Nov. 10, 2021, that saw Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) leap past $100 billion in market capitalization within the first two trading days, the electric vehicle (EV) stock soon ran out of gas and ended the month of December down 13.4%, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Rivian's first earnings report as a public company left much to be desired.
Rivian started to lose steam in late November after some things seemed to go against the EV maker's favor. Ford Motor Company, for example, which bought $500 million in the electric truck start-up in 2019 as part of a strategic partnership, decided to abandon plans to co-develop an electric truck with Rivian.
Meanwhile, a California judge asked Tesla to expedite its lawsuit against Rivian alleging the theft of documents and trade secrets by former employees who left Tesla for Rivian. Even as investors started to weigh the potential financial loss Rivian could face if it loses the lawsuit, the truck maker announced mid-December that it wouldn't be able to meet its production target of 1,200 vehicles in 2021 given the supply constraints. Rivian had produced only 650 R1T trucks and delivered just about 384 units by Dec. 15, 2021.
Source Fool.com