Rivian Surprises Many As Q1 Earnings Outperform EV Competitors

David Shultz

David Shultz reports on clean technology and electric vehicles, among other industries, for dot.LA. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Outside, Nautilus and many other publications.

Rivian R1S at a charging station in the desert.
Rivian's Q1 Earnings Surprise Many

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It’s earnings season, baby! I feel like we just did this, but four quarters in a year means that business marches inexorably onwards.


Rivian

Rivian announced Q1 earnings yesterday and they were better than expected, with the company reporting a net loss of *just* $1.35 billion or $1.25 per share. Analysts had anticipated that the company would lose as much as $1.62 per share, but better-than-expected revenue narrowed the gap considerably. Rivian reported $661 million in revenue for Q1, which beat estimates of $652.1 million.

More importantly, perhaps, Rivian reaffirmed its production targets of 50,000 vehicles for the year. In Q1, the company produced just 9,395 EVs, but much of the quarter saw assembly lines down as the company added its new, less expensive “enduro motor” configuration into production. The enduro motor, which will be added to the Amazon Vans as well as the auto maker’s R1T platform features two single-motor drive units, with one on each axle. The new configuration will serve as the backbone for the company’s coming “R2” platform, which is still on pace for 2026, according to a CNBC interview with CEO RJ Scargine.

Getting to 2026 remains key for Rivian. The company reported $11.8 billion in cash on hand yesterday, which, at the current burn rate, will last them just over two years. The Irvine-based EV company has previously signaled that it’s open to exploring various ways of raising the funds necessary to bridge the gap, but has declined to go into specifics. Rivian’s share price jumped as high as 7% on the news, but has since fallen back to +2.63% as of this writing.

Fisker

Meanwhile, across town in Manhattan Beach, Fisker saw the opposite story play out, reporting a wider-than-expected loss this quarter and cutting its production targets. This news may be unsurprising if you’ve been following the progress of the company’s first offering, the Ocean, which has hit a series of last-minute production hiccups in the United States. The company had previously forecast a production target of 42,000 vehicles for 2023, but has slashed that number to 32,000-36,000. Fisker did say, however, that it expects deliveries to begin before the end of the month in the United States, which would obviously be a massive milestone for the company.

Faraday Future

And last but not least, LA-based Faraday Future announced that it plans to raise $100 million in debt to get its flagship FF 91 electric vehicle over the hump and into production. The company first signaled back in April that it would need to raise money to actually start production and begin deliveries, and yesterday Reuters reported that the money would come via debt raise. The money will come from FF Global Partners (FFGP), a collection of current and former company executives, as well as other investors, such as Metaverse Horizon Limited and V W Investment Holding, according to Reuters. This is far from the first time that Faraday has needed to raise additional money at the last minute in order to keep the lights on, but the company has previously relied primarily on equity raises or securities rather than debt.

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LA Tech Week Day Two: Social Highlights
Evan Xie

L.A. Tech Week has brought venture capitalists, founders and entrepreneurs from around the world to the California coast. With so many tech nerds in one place, it's easy to laugh, joke and reminisce about the future of tech in SoCal.

Here's what people are saying about day two of L.A. Tech Week on social:

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LA Tech Week: Goldhirsh Foundation and the Positive Effects of Technology

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech Week: Goldhirsh Foundation and the Positive Effects of Technology
Photo taken by Decerry Donato

On Monday, Los Angeles-based philanthropic organization Goldhirsh Foundation hosted the Technology and Storytelling For Social Good panel at Creative Visions studio to kick off LA Tech week.

Tara Roth, president of the foundation, moderated the panel and gathered nonprofit and tech leaders including Paul Lanctot, web developer of The Debt Collective; Alexis Cabrera, executive director of 9 Dots; Sabra Williams, co-founder of Creative Acts; and Laura Gonzalez, senior program manager of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI).

Each of the panelists are grantees of Goldhirsh Foundation’s LA2050, an initiative launched in 2011 that is continuously trying to drive and track progress toward a shared vision for the future of Los Angeles. Goldhirsh’s vision is to make Los Angeles better for all and in order to achieve their goal, the foundation makes investments into organizations, creates partnerships and utilizes social capital through community events.

The panelists shared how the work they are doing in each of their respective sectors uses technology to solve some of society's most pressing challenges and highlight the importance of tech literacy across every community.

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LA Tech Week Is Back! Here Are the Events We're Watching

Kristin Snyder

Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.

LA Tech Week Is Back! Here Are the Events We're Watching
Evan Xie

This is the web version of dot.LA’s daily newsletter. Sign up to get the latest news on Southern California’s tech, startup and venture capital scene.


MONDAY

LA Hardtech: Local Talent Meets CEOs: Want to see robots in action? This hardtech event will showcase product demos and feature conversations about all things aircrafts, satellites, electric vehicles, robots and medical devices. June 5 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in El Segundo.

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