Lucid, Rivian and Tesla Round Up

This week the electric vehicle industry had some surprising earnings reports, price increases and quickly price decreases. Elon Musk was tweeting and responding in regards to some of the biggest news around the week.

Rivian Increased Prices Of The Quad Motor

Rivian has increased the quad motor pricing, which ranges from increased prices of $12,000 to $15,000 for reservation holders. Elon Musk did not seem impressed with the increased price hikes.

Could this be because Rivian is having some production issues? It would not be a surprise since there is a global chip shortage, supply chain issues that have been affecting the entire EV market.

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have created a feud that has now taken to the Space industry and the Electric Vehicle industry. Amazon owns about a 20% stake in Rivian and we have seen Jeff Bezos ride around a Rivian vehicle before Blue Origin flights.

Rivian Took Back The Price Increases

A day after Rivian had announced a $12k-15k price increase on some configurations of their vehicles, Rivian heard the negative comments from customers and quickly took back the price increases. This is not a great sign for Rivian since they probably know that price increases would significantly help profit margins but decided to think about the longevity of their company.

The response from Rivian boded well for their overall brand and this seems to make a lot of reservation holders happy that they will not pay the price increases. It does open the door for future price increases, but at least the very first customers of Rivian will be locked into their prices.

More Elon Musk Tweets

Elon Musk replied to a tweet about the LucidAirs 500 mile battery. Whole Mars Catalog had stated that Lucid created the first every 500 mile EV, but Tesla would be the first to mass produce them. Elon Musk replied that Tesla could have made a 600 mile range Model S, but opted for higher efficiency and better performance because the weight of the battery would make the vehicle worse.

Lucid Motors has been the only company in the Electric Vehicle race to have a 500 mile range on a single charge, so this came as a surprise to many that read the tweet.
Does Range Matter?

The EV infrastructure is built up more than the majority of people think. The whole point in a ton of range is not exactly because people need it everyday. More range is better for people's abilities to be comfortable driving anywhere and not having to worry about charging. A 500+ mile Tesla would be a game changer. It would allow the most recognizable EV brand to achieve great range that would force other EV makers to up their game and create an even better product.

Tesla is focused on supercharging whereas some EV makers like Lucid Motors have opted to just partner with a charging company. That is why Lucid partnered with Electrify America. Tesla will continue to make an enormous profit on supercharging, which means that Tesla makes money when the customer uses the vehicle.

Other automotive competitors, especially gas combustion engines, do not make money from the vehicle once it leaves the dealership. Tesla makes money on charging. A big battery would ultimately decrease performance and charging profits.

My Thoughts On Lucid, Rivian and Tesla This Week

The biggest takeaways for Lucid Motors Earnings call was that Saudi Arabian facility that is opening up and they are starting construction in the first half of 2022. That is awesome news for Lucid. The worst part about the Earning Call was definitely the 12-14k vehicles that are expected to be produced down from the original 20k that was scheduled to be produced during 2022. Quality over Quantity is one of Lucid Motors mottos, so this is not necessarily a bad thing for a company that is currently in an industry dealing with a global chip shortage and supply chain issues.

I do believe that a 500+ mile range Tesla Model S could come out one day, however, at this time, Lucid is the leader in range. Tesla has an unbelievable company that includes great software, technology and the leader of the electric vehicle industry, but for this specific topic, I would love to see it rather than hearing about a 600 mile range vehicle. Most people that like EVs but chose to stick with gas combustion engines are due to range anxiety.

Rivian had to take the price increases back because they were so enormous and fans of the brand did not take the news well. Rivian responded perfectly and overall this will help out their brand because it shows that they are listening to customers and supporters of the company.

Overall, not a bad week for these companies, but we just had a bad week for the stock prices.

Anthony Donati focuses on electric vehicles and renewable energy companies. He covers Lucid Motors news at Torque News. Please follow him on Twitter at @TheLucidVerse for daily Lucid Motors news. He has a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. DISCLAIMER: Anthony is a Lucid Motors (LCID) stock holder.

Images Courtesy of Lucid Motors