Driving the news: EV startups Rivian $RIVN ( ▲ 0.08% ) and Lucid $LCID ( ▼ 1.42% ) both had rough quarters and slashed their outlooks, with Rivian raising its expected annual loss to $2-2.25 billion while Lucid cut its 2025 production forecast to 18,000-20,000 vehicles.
For context: Both companies are dealing with Trump's policy changes, including EV tax credits ending September 30 and the loss of regulatory credit revenue.
Rivian's production fell to just 5,979 vehicles in Q2 due to China's rare earth export restrictions, while its cost per vehicle jumped 8% to $118,375.
Lucid delivered a record 3,309 vehicles but still missed Wall Street revenue expectations despite sitting on $4.86 billion in cash.
Why it matters: Life has become pretty precarious for EV startups that aren't named Tesla. Both Lucid and Rivian are burning cash while trying to scale production, and the policy support that helped boost EVs considerably is quickly disappearing.
Bottom line: Rivian expects Q3 deliveries to surge as customers rush to grab tax credits before they disappear, but both startups could face a brutal Q4 once the incentives are gone. While Lucid has a bigger cash cushion and Rivian has Amazon's backing, neither has reached the scale they need to survive on their own.
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