After Securing a Massive Government Handout of $1.5 Million per Job Created, Rivian Is Reportedly in Partnership Talks With Apple

From a high of $172 per share at the peak of the EV mania to just around $10 per share now, Rivian appeared destined for a penny stock status not too long ago. However, the company's recent movies are significant enough to merit a pause from even the most ardent of bears.

To wit, DigiTimes is now out with a scoop that Apple and Rivian are mulling some sort of a partnership deal. The Asian publication does not elaborate as to the nature of this potential tie-up, which is quite confounding given that Apple abandoned its EV ambitions under the so-called Project Titan earlier this year.

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Meanwhile, the Governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, announced a mammoth handout for Rivian last week, amounting to $827 million and predicated on Rivian's $1.5 billion investment in Normal, Illinois, to expand its factory - a move that is likely to create at least 550 new full-time jobs. This corresponds to $1.5 million in state incentives for each job created, with $634 million coming from REV tax credits alone. For context, do note that a typical location incentive rarely goes above $100,000 for every new job created.

Rivian currently sells two EVs: the R1S SUV and the R1T pickup truck. In 2023, the company delivered 50,122 units and lost around $43,372 per vehicle sold in Q4 2023. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the company has had 2 layoff waves so far in 2024.

Just like Tesla, Rivian is betting the proverbial house on a more affordable EV. Dubbed the R2, the vehicle is expected to enter production in 2026 and start retailing from $45,000.

It was not too long ago that Tesla announced with a fair bit of hubris that it could sell any production volume, indicating that the demand for EVs was virtually limitless. Yet, the past few months have shown just how poorly these predictions have aged, with Tesla itself having to contend with a litany of price cuts to juice demand and its smaller peers like Rivian relegated to a