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Rivian trims production target as supply chain delays linger, shares slide

Credit: Rivian

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Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) missed Wall Street consensus estimates after reporting a loss of $2.43 per share and revenue of $54 million.

Wall Street expected Rivian to lose $1.64 per share and was expecting a consensus estimate of $61.18 million. The company also was expected to announce a 2022 delivery goal of 40,000 units but suggested guidance of around 25,000 vehicles instead.

Rivian shares were down over 12 percent in aftermarket trading. The stock closed at $41.16 on Thursday.

Despite the tough Q4 financial figures, Rivian had several accomplishments in 2021. Not only did it start production and deliveries of all three of its vehicles, but it also had its flagship pickup, the R1T, voted as MotorTrend’s 2022 Truck of the Year. Additionally, Rivian announced it would build a new manufacturing facility in the United States in Georgia.

“Looking ahead to 2022 and beyond, we are focused on continuing to help drive the transformation of transportation,” Rivian said in its Shareholder Deck. “Our path to EV leadership won’t be easy. In the immediate term, we are not immune to the supply chain issues that have challenged the entire industry. Those issues, which we believe will continue through at least 2022, have added a layer of complexity to our production ramp-up.”

For the next year, Rivian stated it will remain focused on ramping production at the Normal, Illinois plant. Additionally, Rivian said it will develop ” a heat pump-based thermal system for improved cold weather efficiency as well as a range of new battery packs including both high nickel and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries.” High-nickel packs are becoming a more popular development for many electric automakers as companies attempt to move away from controversial materials in battery packs. However, nickel is not as readily available as many once thought, so LFP chemistries are also being considered as a potential alternative.

Rivian said 2022 started off slowly due to persistent supply chain constraints, a planned 10-day shutdown to fine-tune production lines, COVID-19 cases, and severe weather in Central Illinois. Manufacturing is picking up, however. Rivian said, “As of March 8, we have produced 1,410 vehicles in 2022 and 2,425 vehicles since the start of production.”

Amazon Partnership

Rivian said its partnership with Amazon is extremely strong, and it delivered its first EDV to Amazon at the end of 2021. As Rivian continues to scale the R1T and R1S and work with suppliers to decrease bottlenecks, the company is “working in close partnership with Amazon to refine the digital integration of the EDV as well as our software platform to support the most effective operation of the vehicles,” it said.

Apart from the EDV-700, Rivian announced that it has also successfully produced the European version of the van, the EDV-500. A narrower and shorter version of the original van, it is better suited for expanding markets and geographies where smaller form factors are more advantageous.

Rivian’s Earnings Call will available via webcast at this link.

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Disclosure: Joey Klender is not a RIVN Shareholder.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla gives its biggest hint that Full Self-Driving in Europe is imminent

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Credit: BLKMDL3 | X

Tesla has given its biggest hint that Full Self-Driving in Europe is imminent, as a new feature seems to show that the company is preparing for frequent border crossings.

Tesla owner and influencer BLKMDL3, also known as Zack, recently took his Tesla to the border of California and Mexico at Tijuana, and at the international crossing, Full Self-Driving showed an interesting message: “Upcoming country border — FSD (Supervised) will become unavailable.”

Due to regulatory approvals, once a Tesla operating on Full Self-Driving enters a new country, it is required to comply with the laws and regulations that are applicable to that territory. Even if legal, it seems Tesla will shut off FSD temporarily, confirming it is in a location where operation is approved.

This is something that will be extremely important in Europe, as crossing borders there is like crossing states in the U.S.; it’s pretty frequent compared to life in America, Canada, and Mexico.

Tesla has been working to get FSD approved in Europe for several years, and it has been getting close to being able to offer it to owners on the continent. However, it is still working through a lot of the red tape that is necessary for European regulators to approve use of the system on their continent.

This feature seems to be one that would be extremely useful in Europe, considering the fact that crossing borders into other countries is much more frequent than here in the U.S., and would cater to an area where approvals would differ.

Tesla has been testing FSD in Spain, France, England, and other European countries, and plans to continue expanding this effort. European owners have been fighting for a very long time to utilize the functionality, but the red tape has been the biggest bottleneck in the process.

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Tesla Europe builds momentum with expanding FSD demos and regional launches

Tesla operates Full Self-Driving in the United States, China, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.

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SpaceX Starship V3 gets launch date update from Elon Musk

The first flight of Starship Version 3 and its new Raptor V3 engines could happen as early as March.

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Credit: SpaceX/X

Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX’s next Starship launch, Flight 12, is expected in about six weeks. This suggests that the first flight of Starship Version 3 and its new Raptor V3 engines could happen as early as March.

In a post on X, Elon Musk stated that the next Starship launch is in six weeks. He accompanied his announcement with a photo that seemed to have been taken when Starship’s upper stage was just about to separate from the Super Heavy Booster. Musk did not state whether SpaceX will attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster during the upcoming flight.

The upcoming flight will mark the debut of Starship V3. The upgraded design includes the new Raptor V3 engine, which is expected to have nearly twice the thrust of the original Raptor 1, at a fraction of the cost and with significantly reduced weight. The Starship V3 platform is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability. 

The Starship V3 Flight 12 launch timeline comes as SpaceX pursues an aggressive development cadence for the fully reusable launch system. Previous iterations of Starship have racked up a mixed but notable string of test flights, including multiple integrated flight tests in 2025.

Interestingly enough, SpaceX has teased an aggressive timeframe for Starship V3’s first flight. Way back in late November, SpaceX noted on X that it will be aiming to launch Starship V3’s maiden flight in the first quarter of 2026. This was despite setbacks like a structural anomaly on the first V3 booster during ground testing.

“Starship’s twelfth flight test remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026,” the company wrote in its post on X. 

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Tesla China rolls out Model 3 insurance subsidy through February

Eligible customers purchasing a Model 3 by February 28 can receive an insurance subsidy worth RMB 8,000 (about $1,150).

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Credit: Tesla Malaysia/X

Tesla has rolled out a new insurance subsidy for Model 3 buyers in China, adding another incentive as the automaker steps up promotions in the world’s largest electric vehicle market.

Eligible customers purchasing a Model 3 by February 28 can receive an insurance subsidy worth RMB 8,000 (about $1,150).

A limited-time subsidy

The insurance subsidy, which was announced by Tesla China on Weibo, applies to the Model 3 RWD, Long Range RWD, and Long Range AWD variants. Tesla stated that the offer is available to buyers who complete their purchase on or before February 28, as noted in a CNEV Post report. The starting prices for these variants are RMB 235,500, RMB 259,500, and RMB 285,500, respectively.

The Tesla Model 3 Performance, which starts at RMB 339,500, is excluded from the subsidy. The company has previously used insurance incentives at the beginning of the year to address softer seasonal demand in China’s auto market. The program is typically phased out as sales conditions stabilize over the year.

https://twitter.com/tslaming/status/2015608966206890016?s=20

China’s electric vehicle market

The insurance subsidy followed Tesla’s launch of a 7-year low-interest financing plan in China on January 6, which is aimed at improving vehicle affordability amid changing policy conditions. After Tesla introduced the financing program, several automakers, such as Xiaomi, Li Auto, Xpeng, and Voyah, introduced similar long-term financing options.

China’s electric vehicle market has faced additional headwinds entering 2026. Buyers of new energy vehicles are now subject to a 5% purchase tax, compared with the previous full exemption. At the same time, vehicle trade-in subsidies in several cities are expected to expire in mid-November.

Tesla’s overall sales in China declined in 2025, with deliveries totaling 625,698 vehicles, down 4.78% year-over-year. Model 3 deliveries increased 13.33% to 200,361 units, while Model Y deliveries, which were hampered by the changeover to the new Model Y in the first quarter, fell 11.45% to 425,337 units.

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