Rivian (RIVN) Stock Drops 7% on R2 Launch Day — What Went Wrong?

TLDR

• Rivian stock dropped 6.6% on Tuesday, closing at $15.73, despite beginning R2 SUV deliveries
• The R2 starts at $57,990 for the Launch Package trim, with a sub-$50,000 version expected in early 2027
• Rivian moved up its entry-level R2 timeline from late 2027 to next summer
• The company delivered 42,247 vehicles in 2025; Wall Street projects 220,000 by 2028
• Rivian is down 21% year to date but up 7% over the past 12 months

Rivian kicked off R2 deliveries on Tuesday, but the stock market wasn’t in a celebrating mood. Rivian (RIVN) stock fell 6.6%, closing at $15.73 after touching an intraday high of $16.92, even as the company handed over its first R2 SUVs to reservation holders.

Rivian Automotive, Inc., RIVN

The drop came on a broadly weak day. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, with macro concerns around inflation and potential rate hikes weighing on sentiment across the board.

The R2 is Rivian’s lower-priced second-generation EV, sitting well below its R1S SUV, which starts at around $77,000. The Launch Package trim of the R2 opens at $57,990, with CEO RJ Scaringe saying he expects the sales sweet spot to land in the low $50,000s once full production is running.

A sub-$50,000 version isn’t expected until the first half of 2027.

One piece of good news from the event: Rivian pulled forward the timeline for its most affordable R2 configuration, moving it from late 2027 to next summer. Early reviews of the vehicle were largely positive.

The Road to Profitability

Scaringe was direct about where Rivian stands: the company doesn’t yet have the scale it needs to turn a profit. Rivian reported a third straight quarter of positive gross profit, but its automotive segment still posted a $62 million gross profit loss in Q1.

The company produced 42,247 vehicles last year and recorded $3.6 billion in losses over the same period. A previously stated goal of adjusted profitability by 2027 was quietly dropped earlier this year, with no new target set.

Wall Street currently doesn’t expect Rivian to post a full-year profit until 2030, when annual sales are projected to exceed 420,000 units.

Tesla Parallels

The R2 launch draws obvious comparisons to Tesla’s Model 3 moment. Tesla sold around 76,000 cars in 2015 before the Model 3 launched in 2017. By 2019, that figure had grown to roughly 368,000. Tesla now sells about 1.8 million vehicles a year.

Rivian is following a similar playbook: start with premium, lower-volume vehicles, then scale with a more affordable model aimed at a broader market.

Tesla stock was around $22 when the Model 3 first shipped. It was roughly 10 times higher by end of 2020.

Heading into Tuesday’s delivery event, Rivian stock had gained 20% over the prior month. On Wednesday, it slipped a further 1.8% in midday trading.

On a year-to-date basis, RIVN is down 21%. Over the past 12 months, it’s up 7%.

The post Rivian (RIVN) Stock Drops 7% on R2 Launch Day — What Went Wrong? appeared first on CoinCentral.