Step aside, Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN)! There’s a new electric vehicle (EV) startup leader based on market capitalization, and its name is Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID). Recently, Lucid’s market cap of $62 billion surpassed Rivian’s market cap of $58 billion. After Rivian ballooned to as high as $179 following its initial public offering (IPO), shares have slumped lower to the mid-$60 range. Furthermore, shares of RIVN stock are down more than 35% year-to-date (YTD). While LCID stock is down roughly 7% YTD, Lucid’s superior YTD performance has allowed Lucid to surpass Rivian in terms of market cap.
Both Rivian and Lucid offer investors an opportunity to invest in an early stage EV startup. However, the valuation of these two names is what is holding some investors back. Furthermore, competition from legacy automakers like Ford (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM) is also heating up. On top of that, investors should be aware of the elephant in the room, namely Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).
Last quarter, Rivian reported revenue of $1 million on top of a $1.23 billion loss. On the other hand, Lucid reported revenue of $232,000 with a $524.4 million loss. While these two EV makers remain unprofitable, investors should be reminded that it took Tesla 18 years to become profitable. Tesla achieved this accomplishment in 2020 and delivered 500,000 vehicles that year.
What’s Next As Lucid Overtakes Rivian Stock
An investor should also factor potential growth into their investment thesis. Rivian currently has 71,000 reservations for the R1T and R1S models. Meanwhile, Lucid has 17,000 reservations for its Air sedan, representing a book value of $1.3 billion. Lucid has also confirmed its goal of producing 20,000 vehicles in 2022. Furthermore, CEO Peter Rawlinson is “confident in our ability” to achieve the goal.
Rivian has not yet released a 2022 production goal, although the EV maker stated that it expects its 2021 target of 1,200 vehicles produced to fall “a few hundred vehicles short.” Rivian is also working on a new $5 billion EV plant in Georgia. Construction for the plant will start this year, with a finalization date set for 2024. The new plant is expected to be able to produce 400,000 vehicles per year. However, building new plants isn’t cheap, and Rivian is expected to report $8 billion of capital expenditures through 2023.
Both companies are currently spending billions of dollars to power future growth. Investors will want to keep up to date with reservation reports and company updates as these two EV producers try to make a name for themselves.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
